Watashi no Gutaika no Yume
by Jeril Dragonsoul
Summary: Post-Series - COMPLETED - After their battle, Vash takes it upon himself to teach his brother to like humans, so they begin visiting a daycare. A little girl there dubs Knives her 'friend' and Knives slowly begins to think of her as his.
1. Enter a Dream

Hey all! Welcome to "Watashi no Gutaika no Yume". As the summary reads (though a little expanded): Two months after the last battle, Vash is taking care of the paralyzed Knives. He takes it upon himself to teach his brother to like humans, so he begins bringing his brother to a daycare daily. A little girl there meets Knives and immediately takes to the Plant. She dubs Knives her 'friend' and Knives slowly begins to think of her as his.

**Disclaimer:** Oh man, do I have to say it? Can't I just pretend for a little bit? Awh… okay… _I don't own Trigun or any characters that came from the anime._ Woohoo… ;-; I sad now… But I do own the girl! ^_^ She's too kawaii! Well, not quite own… Let's just say I adopted her. ^_~ So you can't use her!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Vash, why have you brought me here?" Knives asked calmly as his brother wheeled him into the large daycare.

"Because I want you to understand that humans are good people," Vash answered, sitting himself down on a small, kiddie chair.

"Good people?" Knives asked in a slightly strained tone, "How can you say they are good people? They are disgusting beasts! A waste of resources! They should all be destroyed!"

"Knives! There are children present! Please lay off with the destruction talk," Vash chided his brother.

"I don't give a damn about any _human_ children! If they were Plants, it would be another matter entirely but they are human and therefore I don't care about them! If I had my gun with me and if I were not paralyzed," Knives threw an angry hand down in a gesture to pointing out the crude wheelchair he was strapped in, "I would kill them all!"

"Knives, yelling about killing people isn't going to get you anywhere. I am going to continue these daily daycare visits until you learn to tolerate, if not love, humans."

"You talk nonsense, brother. You will be the one who will learn in the end. But you will not learn the lesson you wish to teach me! You will learn the true nature of these pathetic beasts and then you will join me on a mission to destroy them all!" Knives threw back his head and laughed maniacally.

Vash sighed. _Will you never change, brother of mine? It's not that hard… or is it? For one who has hated humans for so long, it might be hard to change your ways… very hard…_

_Did you think something, Vash?_ Knives thought to his brother.

"No, it was nothing," Vash answered aloud and turned as he saw a little girl approaching.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully, grinning widely.

"Hello!" Vash greeted her.

"Why're you in that wheelchair?" she asked Knives.

"I'm paralyzed from the waist down," he growled. It was obviously a sore subject for him.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"What do you want, you scum?" Knives growled, _slightly_ annoyed.

"I want to be your friend!" the girl announced.

"My friend?! I don't have any friends! Especially _human_ friends. Now why don't you go kill yourself and do me a favor? Or I can do it for you, if you'd prefer that…" Knives said, smiling devilishly.

"Wha… what'd I do?" the girl sniffled and burst into tears.

"It's nothing, kid. He's just a cranky guy," Vash said, pulling the girl into a hug, "There, there. It's nothing to cry about. Really." Vash pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket and dried the girl's eyes, "How about you go do something for him? To make him happy and not so cranky?"

"Like what?" she sniffled a few more times but her eyes brightened.

"I don't know… make something pretty. Use your imagination!" Vash smiled.

"All right!" she bounced off to a nearby table and pulled out some construction paper and crayons, giggling to herself.

Vash watched the child as she sat there, grinning to herself and chatting with the other children as she worked on her little project. She had brown eyes and long black hair that was styled in a way that reminded him of Rem's. She also seemed to have a carefree personality like Milly's but different in some ways.

"Why did you have to encourage it?" Knives sighed.

"You really should be nicer to children, Knives. They have very fragile egos and feelings and just a few wrong words can hurt them."

Knives arched an eyebrow at his twin, "Does it look like I care?"

"Ummm… no?"

"That's because I don't."

"But Knives! She's so kawaii! Look at her!" Vash pointed at the little girl crafting energetically at her table, "How could you not care about such an adorable child?"

Knives gave his brother a blank look, "When I think of what you could have been if that Rem hadn't interfered with you, I wish I could go back in time and kill her again…"

"What did you say?" Vash hissed, his eyes narrowing.

"You know how I feel about that human woman, Vash. Don't act surprised."

Vash glared at his brother for a few minutes as he breathed deeply. Then, he broke into a grin. "That's another one of my goals, brother! To make you understand just how truly wonderful Rem was!"

"You must have been hit on the head pretty hard to believe that you could actually convince me that Rem is a person worthy of my respect."

"You're not a lost cause yet, Knives," Vash smiled at his brother who just glared back.

"I'm back, Person-san and Angry Man-san!" the little child announced as she ran back to them, hiding something behind her back. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. She leaned over close to Vash's ear and whispered, "What's his name?"

"Knives," the Plant answered.

She wrinkled her nose and whispered again, "That's a funny name."

"Better then Angry Man-san."

"Maybe…" The little girl stood up straight and bounced over to Knives' chair. "Knives-san! I made you a present!" The little girl held up a paper necklace, decorated with little smiley faces, stars and hearts in many different colors, many of them clashing and not making the crude, little creation look any better.

"That is the most-" Knives started but paused as he saw the look on his brother's face as he sat behind the girl. _Knives, please… be nice to her_, the other Plant begged telepathically, his green eyes pleading with his brother. Knives looked at his options. On one hand, he could tell the child off, make her cry and perhaps emotionally scar her forever, with him deriving a great amount of pleasure from this event.

On the other hand, he could do as his brother wished and lie to the girl about how it looked. What this would accomplish was his brother's happiness and maybe… Vash would leave him alone about being nice to humans for a bit. Knives steeled himself and, through gritted teeth, muttered, "It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Then Knives froze in what could almost be called fear as he saw a look come over her face.

The girl's mouth dropped open and big stars popped into her eyes. She jumped into Knives' lap, threw her little arms around his neck and planted a large kiss on his cheek. With a huge smile, she hugged his neck and exclaimed, "Oh, Knives-sama! You're so wonderful! I want to be your friend for forever and ever!"

Knives' eyes widened in amazement as she fastened her necklace around his neck, all the while babbling about how nice he was and how they were going to have lots of fun. _How can she attach to a person that quickly? All I did was lie about the necklace… does something that small mean that much to a child? How vulnerable… how easily manipulated… Now I see how Nicholas D. Wolfwood was so impressionable…_

"Th-thank you…" he mumbled in a confused voice as the girl clambered down from his lap.

"No problem!" she grinned, "C'mon Knives-sama! Let's go draw pictures together!" she grabbed his hand.

"Oh… okay…" Knives blinked.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go home," Vash interrupted, "We could only stay for a half hour."

"But… but… I want to play with Knives-sama!" the little girl's eyes started to tear.

"We'll be back tomorrow!" Vash said hurriedly, "Don't cry! Why don't you draw pictures for Knives so tomorrow you can show them to him?"

"Good idea, Person-san!" she bounced up and down, "Fun!"

"My name's Vash," the Plant pointed out.

"Okay, Person-san! Buh bye! See you tomorrow!" she gave Knives' arm a hug and bounced off.

Knives turned to his twin and stared at him for a bit. He finally said, "Is that normal?"

"Um… I don't know…" Vash was a little confused himself. The little girl seemed very subject to the mood of the moment. Vash was glad she was a child and still able to change her ways before adulthood. A woman like that would be one he would walk five iles to avoid. _She probably has a hair-trigger temper too…_

"Oh! I forgot!" the girl seemed to appear out of nowhere; making the two Plants jump in surprise.

"Forgot what?" Vash asked.

"My name!" she smiled.

"Well, what is it?" Knives asked in an irked tone.

"Guess!" she grinned.

Vash groaned, "Do you know how many names there are out there?"

"Lots and lots!"

"Can you tell us how long it would take for us to find your name by just guessing randomly?"

"Um… a long time?"

"Yes. So give us a hint!"

"Ok! It begins with a 'y' and ends with a 'ume'!"

"Yume?" Knives growled, a little irritated. He did not like guessing games.

"Wow! Knives-sama guessed it! He's so smart and wonderful! I love him so much!" the girl, now known as Yume, jumped into Knives' lap once more and gave him another breath-taking, literally, hug. Then she jumped off and disappeared back to her table.

Knives blinked and Vash looked at him. "You've been getting a lot of hugs lately."

"Yes…"

"Ready to go home?"

"You mean, am I ready to go back to your home?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant."

"As long as those two annoying humans there do not try to talk to me, yes."

"Well, I happened to notice that you didn't really mind talking to that little girl," Vash smiled craftily. Knives glared back. "Okay, okay. I'll drop it." With a grin, Vash wheeled his brother out of the daycare center and back to the home he and the Insurance girls had made.

Yume hurried over to a window and watched the twins make their way down the street. With a faint smile, she sighed, her breath condensing on the window. "See you tomorrow, Knives-sama…" She sat down at the table again and began to draw.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woohoo, first Trigun fic! I hope you all like it… I tried to keep Knives in character as much as I possibly could and I think I did a pretty good job. Ummm… I don't have much left to say really except: **review!** Hehe… please? *puppy eyes* I'd really appreciate it…

Oh yes, one last thing. I cannot guarantee this will be updated as much as you all (hopefully) would like. I've got a few other fics I am working on so… yeah… I really like this idea so I hope I will have new chaps up every 1 – 2 weeks. ^_^ Anyway, buh bye! Until next time!


	2. The Hidden Truth

"We're home!" Vash called out as he rolled his brother into the small, one story home the twins shared with the two women from the Bernardelli Insurance Agency.

"Welcome back Vash-san and Knives-san!" Milly called out from the kitchen where she and Meryl were preparing dinner, "How was the daycare?"

"It was great! There was a little girl there who was all over Knives," Vash laughed.

"Really?" Milly popped her head out of the kitchen doorway, "That's good! What's her name?"

"Yume. She made us guess it. She's very hyperactive and spontaneous. I think she and you would get along quite well," Vash smiled and then his stomach rumbled. He put a hand on it and laughed, "Are there any donuts?"

"Of course!" Milly disappeared back into the kitchen and then brought out a large platter piled high with donuts and set it on the table. "There you go!" she turned to Knives, "Did you enjoy the daycare, Knives-san?"

Knives glared back.

Milly smiled, not perturbed by Knives' attitude toward her, "Okay! Are you hungry for anything?"

Knives still glared back.

"I don't think he wants to talk to you Mille," Meryl remarked from the kitchen's doorframe. She leaned against it, sighed and gave Vash a look.

"What'd I do?" Vash muttered through a mouthful of donut.

"Nothing."

"Okay," Vash continued to eat his donuts.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat, Knives-san?" Milly asked again.

Knives kept his face fixed in a permanent glare that was all for Milly.

"All right. If you get hungry, be sure to tell me!" Milly said, still smiling. She turned to Vash, "Guess what!"

"What?"

"I'm-"

"Milly, you might not want to let them know just yet…"

"Pregnant!"

Vash shook his head and blinked. "What? Who's the father?" he asked even though he already had a good guess.

Milly's smile softened. "Nicholas."

"_What?_" Knives said in a surprised voice, "You carry Nicholas D. Wolfwood's child?"

"Yes," she answered, "Now that you're talking though, do you want something to eat? Anything you want!"

"Hmmm…" he smiled to himself and replied, "Yes, I would actually. A sandwich with chicken, turkey, ham, beef, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, olives, pickles, onions and a little bit of mayo." Vash looked at his brother carefully. A smile like that meant he was plotting something…

Milly's smile faded a little, "We don't have some of that stuff…"

"'Anything you want,' you said," he quoted.

Vash gave his brother an annoyed look. _Sometimes you can be so impossible._

_She asked,_ Knives answered with a mental smirk.

_We're staying for two hours tomorrow for that trick._

Knives turned a red-hot glare on his brother that was countered by a smug look. Looking for an outlet for his anger, he saw Meryl watching Vash with a dreamy look. "Why are you looking at my brother like that, human?" he snarled.

"What?" Meryl snapped back to the present and looked at Knives, startled.

"Do you have a romantic interest in my brother?" he asked.

Meryl's face turned a crimson color, "Don't be so blunt…"

"You wouldn't be blushing if you didn't have something to hide," Knives pointed out.

"Oh yes, Knives. Meryl and I are deeply in love and we're going to get married and have many little, chubby babies that can call you 'Uncle Knives,'" Vash said sarcastically, putting down his donut, one of the few left.

"I hope you are planning nothing of the sort. I would be extremely displeased," Knives said with a deep frown.

"Knives, I'm completely kidding. There's nothing happening between Meryl and I, now or ever." Behind Vash's back, Meryl's eyes widened and a tear or two formed at the corners. She quietly excused herself as she had to "go check on the stew." Milly though noticed her friend's distress and followed her into the kitchen.

"Good, because if anything ever did 'happen', she would die. Horribly."

"Knives! Quit threatening everyone!"

"Vash! Quit trying to change how I act! You know it's a futile attempt, so why bother?"

"You know why I continue to try to save you."

"Ah, yes… and once more, Rem enters into our conversation. Why can't you just let the memory of that woman die, Vash?"

"Because I can't do something like that!"

"And why not?"

"Because…" Vash stretched his mind for a reason and strangely enough, at the moment, he had none. "Because I can't!" he yelled.

"Calm down, brother."

"Stop provoking me!"

"I am not provoking you. I am merely questioning you. You are the one who is interpreting it as an attack."

"I'm going to go see if Meryl needs any help with that stew!" Vash growled, standing up from the table. Knives reached out a hand to catch his brother's coat as he strode by, but the angry Vash easily dodged the outstretched limb. He exited the room with quiet, but firm, closing of the door. Knives stared at the door and smiled faintly to himself. Everyone had buttons that could be pushed. The subject of Rem was Vash's big, red button that was guaranteed to get a reaction, no matter what.

The Instrument of Man's Destruction stretched back in his chair and closed his eyes. All three of them would be back soon when they gathered for dinner but while the room was silent, he might as well get some nice, quiet, thinking time to himself.

Strangely enough, Knives soon found himself thinking about the girl he and Vash had encountered that day. The thought of her had been in the back of his mind ever since they had left the daycare. One thing was for sure. She was an odd, little beast. The Plant could not help but be amazed by the amount of energy she had. It seemed to be in an inexhaustible supply.

Yume… It had been a while since he had heard that name. In the language it originated from, he believed it translated to 'dream'. He wondered how she had come by such a name.

Knives' leg suddenly cramped. He lurched forward and clutched the spastic appendage while he let loose a string of curses. Ever since his brother had shot that leg, he occasionally was thrown a sudden seizure of the muscles and it was extremely painful.

As the stabbing, twisting sensation lessened, he looked around, hoping no one had been present to view the fact that he did indeed still feel his legs. Knives had told his brother and his brother's human friends that he was paralyzed from the waist down and the Plant worked carefully to keep them from knowing the truth. He used this time to plan and scheme while he waited for an opening, a time he could suddenly disappear without a trace. Once he left, he would start his plan anew. His plan for human genocide.

A smile spread across Knives' face and he silently chuckled to himself. _Yes, Vash. Just you wait. I shall destroy them all whether or not you stand besides me, or oppose me. That battle we fought two months ago may have ended, but the war is not yet finished!_

Vash took a deep breath and studied the floor after he closed the door. Sometimes his brother was so difficult that Vash _almost_ wished he had died in the battle two months ago. Life would be so much easier without him… but then again, Vash could not imagine a world without Knives. He did not know what he would do when his brother did die…

Vash heard a faint sniff and looked up to see Meryl with her back to him, stirring the stew. "How's it coming along?" he asked.

"Good, though it's a little spicy," she answered.

"I like spicy foods," Vash looked around and noticed Mille was gone, "Where's Mille?"

"She went out to buy the things for Knives' sandwich. I tried to tell her not to go but she wants him to like her..." Meryl sighed and shook her head slightly.

"She's such a nice person…" Vash smiled a 'true smile', as the deceased priest, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, had called them.

"Yes…" Meryl's back was still to him and she picked up a few carrots and tossed them in the stew.

"When will she be back?"

"In about twenty minutes. The stew will be ready then too."

"Okay." Vash left, oblivious to why Meryl kept her back to him the entire time.

Meryl wiped her teary eyes on a handkerchief Milly had left with her as she let the sob she had been containing loose. _How can he be so callous? Doesn't that fool see it? I thought he knew…_ She gripped the sides of the stove and cried freely, not caring who walked in.

The tears born of love and rejection fell into the stew, to mix and be lost among ingredients, just as the love of an individual for another can be mixed with their everyday lives, and lost, forever unnoticed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! I'm so happy about all of your enthusiastic responses to the first chap! ^_^ Thank you, everyone! You completely made my week! Though no Yume in this chap. Gomen, gomen.

Sorry if some of you are disappointed with how Knives interacts with the Bernardelli Insurance girls. They never got to meet in the anime so I'm kind of walking on new land here, making it up as I go. I hope it's okay. _

And just to let you know. Sorry to destroy any hopes you had but this fic isn't going to be completely like the first chap. It will get a little angsty and more dramatic in later chaps. And I will probably have to raise my ratings because of Knives. After all, he does want to kill all humans… so this fic can't stay 'PG' forever…

Kudos to my beta-reader, Zenwazawa Ukimi AKA Kyoko-sama! She's an awesome person and I don't know what I would do without her! She manages to correct all my misassumptions about Trigun and it's characters, especially Knives. ^_^;; I probably would have had him _a lot_ different (and worse) in this fic if it hadn't been for her. ^_^ Arigato Kyoko-sama!You all should read her fic _Mumei no daimei_. It's very well written and pretty much the only bad thing about it is it has a slow start. ^_^ But we'll survive. The story ID is 1303410. Read it now!


	3. Open thy Butterfly Eyes

"I can't believe you did that yesterday!" Vash exclaimed as he wheeled Knives down the street.

"Did what?" Knives asked.

"When Milly made you that sandwich! You didn't even eat it!"

"I will not soil my mouth with any food that a human has touched. Besides, we Plants are superior. We do not require food to survive, as you know. You just eat it to fit in with the humans."

"But still! Why did you ask her for it if you knew before hand that you weren't going to eat it?"

"It slipped my mind." Knives shrugged.

Vash glared at his brother, "You know damn well that you have a perfect memory, as do I. _Nothing_ can slip our minds."

"Maybe my age is getting to me then."

"I should leave you in the middle of the street."

"We both know you are incapable of any such action, Vash."

"I know…" Vash sighed as he opened the door to the daycare and pushed his brother inside. Knives knew him all too well. It annoyed him to no end some days.

"Knives-sama!" came a happy call as a black-haired blur crashed into Knives' lap. She looked up at Knives with her shining, chocolate brown, puppy eyes, "I've been waiting for you all day long!"

"Remove yourself from my person this instant!" Knives growled.

"But… but Knives-sama… I was waiting for forever…" she whimpered, her eyes beginning to become very wet. She burst into tears and began wailing on his lap as if her very soul had been ripped from her body.

Knives stared with dismay at the girl before him. She was too emotional and spontaneous for his comfort. At that moment, he would have given his right arm to make her leave him alone and stop crying, annoying him, and trying to be his friend. "Shut up, you damn brat and just leave me the hell alone!" Knives snarled, trying without success to dislodge the little arms that had once again attached themselves around his neck.

"Knives-sama hates me!" Yume wailed, tears flooding down her face, "He never wants to see me ever again! He wants me to go die! He doesn't care!"

"That's damn true!" Knives growled.

_Knives, you are aware that you aren't helping the situation, right, _Vash thought to his brother.

_You try to get the brat off me, _Knives mentally yelled back.

_I can't. Only you can._

_How?_

_Be nice._

_You've got to be joking._

_Nope. You need to say something nice to her._

_I will make you suffer for this someday, Vash._

_Yes, yes. So you've said before._

"Uh… I… uh… was looking forward to seeing you also…" Knives mumbled and stopped his efforts to get the child off of him.

"Really?" the tears suddenly stopped and the girl grinned widely, "I love you so much, Knives-sama!" She hugged him close, while at the same time wiping her tears and snot all over his chest. Knives gagged silently when he saw the sticky trails she left over his plug suit.

She began talking rapidly. "I drew all kinds of pictures yesterday after you went and today when I was waiting for you! I want to show all of them to you! Do you like to draw pictures?"

"I-" Knives began.

"I do!" she cut him off, not to be stopped in her wild, oral rampage, "It's one of my favorite things in the world! I like picture books too! But we don't have a lot of them here… But I've read all of the ones we do have! Do you like picture books, Knives-sama?"

"No, not-" he began again.

"Well, I'm going to read all of them to you anyway!" she grinned broadly.

Knives stared down at the happy child and blinked. She was talking too fast for him to follow her completely. "Slow down, damn it! Don't talk so fast!"

"C'mon, Knives-sama! Yah! There's lotsa stuff to see and only today to see it in!" she bounced off his lap and rushed over to her table. Covering it were all kinds of picture and she gestured furiously for Knives to come over.

"Stupid brat…" Knives growled to himself. He turned around to see why Vash was not pushing him over to the table. His brother seemed to want this 'friendship' to develop so Knives thought he would be bringing him over to the table as fast as he could. His eyes were met with the sight of his brother collapsed on the ground, unable to stop laughing. "What is so funny, brother?" Knives snapped.

"She walked all over you!" Vash gasped out and burst into a fresh fit, "You! Of all people!"

"Stand up and get a hold of yourself!" Knives growled.

"H-hai!" Vash stood up and, still laughing but much quieter now, pushed his brother over to the table covered by the girl's artwork.

Yume pulled a chair over close to Knives and picked up the first picture. "See! This is you," she pointed to a blob, "and this is me," she pointed to another blob that was close to the other one, "and we're sitting up on a hill looking at the stars!"

Knives peered at the scribbles on the paper. "I don't see any of this… It's just a paper full of scribbles. You call this a picture?"

"But… Knives-sama…" the girl started sniffling again.

"Oh wait! I see it!" Knives quickly lied. He did not want any more snot and tears smeared on another part of his anatomy.

"Really? Sugoi, sugoi!" Yume jumped up on the table and began dancing around. She jumped in Knives' lap again and gave him another hug. "You're so wonderful, Knives-sama!"

"Yes, I know."

"All right! This is the next picture! See the pretty butterfly on the branch?" She held up the picture. Knives stared hard at the mad scribbling, trying to see what she saw. Then, as if he could suddenly see through another set of eyes, there it was, drawn crudely but still a butterfly.

"Yes, there it is." Knives pointed it out.

"You _can_ see it, Knives-sama! Wow! I'm so happy!" she grinned and then picked up the next picture. "Here's the spider, and here's me stabbing it with a stick. I hate spiders! They're so nasty and hairy and bleh!" Yume shuddered.

Knives looked at the picture and saw that once again, he could see what she described to him. "Spiders are disgusting creatures," Knives agreed. It amazed him that a human child such as her could share his views without knowing it.

"And here's Knives-sama smiling!" she held up another picture.

Knives grimaced. "I don't like that picture," he stated simply.

"Oh, right…" Yume's face fell and she put it back down. She showed him one by one the rest of her pictures and then brought over some picture books. Slowly, but surely, she read out loud to him some of her favorite books, which included _The Ugly Duckling_, _If You Give a Mouse a Cookie_, _Where the Wild Things Are_, and _Goodnight Moon_.

"'And it was still hot.' … Know what, Knives-sama?" Yume said, putting down _Where the Wild Things Are_, "You remind me of Max, except you never would have stopped being the King of all Wild Things and left the place."

"Unless it was to take my wild things to the human world for a hostile takeover," Knives pointed out, "And I never would have went to my room in the first place either. A superior being such as I does not do as told."

"Yup. Knives-sama is above all that," Yume nodded solemnly.

Vash watched his brother and the child interact. Vash leaned back in his chair and sighed. He did not want to admit it but he was jealous of the girl. Knives had seemed to loosen up a little as he and Yume talked and he was a little more tolerant of her emotional outbursts and once even seemed to nearly smile once at her antics. She had something Vash lacked and that something allowed her to draw out Knives from his carefully dug anti-social hole.

Vash smiled sadly to himself. She was breaking through his hard outer shell, something Vash had never been able to do since Knives had created it when they were children.

"Well… maybe he'll change…" he looked back at the girl who had brought over some games and was trying to get the stubborn Knives to play them with her, "If anyone could make him change, it would be her…"

Vash stood, taking his eyes off the girl and the stranger he once knew. There was a playground outside and some of the children had headed out there. He followed them, wanting to play an outdoors game to take his mind off his brother. Also, there was that cute, young daycare employee who was outside watching them…

"Hang on, Knives-sama! I need to go get something!" Yume dashed off, leaving Knives at the table. Knives growled and rubbed his temples. The child was giving him the worst headache he had ever had. It was at times like this that he wished Legato was still alive. Yes, the human had died because he failed and Knives had no intention of keeping around useless subjects… but that spider could give massages that were better then sex, or at least that was the way Dominique the Cyclops put it.

Knives thought back over the Gung-Ho Guns. Monev the Gale, Zazie the Beast, Midvalley the Hornfreak, Caine the Longshot and the others… they were all so useless when they finally met with Vash. Each said they could destroy him and each failed miserably. What was that human saying? 'If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself' or something to that affect. It was so true…

As Knives contemplated the lost Gung-Ho Guns, Yume returned. Knives looked at the girl, she was acting different. The spring in her step was gone along with her nearly permanent smile. "What happened?" Knives asked as she sat down in a chair beside him. It was not that he was concerned, he was merely curious as to what had ruined the girl's mood.

She sniffed, "Jack and Kole won't let me open the toy closet! And there's something in there I _need_ to show you!" 

"Can't it wait till they will allow you access to this toy closet?"

"No! I have to show it to you _now_! And besides, those jerks are going to stay there for the rest of forever… They say I have to pay them to get in."

"Pay them?"

"Yeah, with cookies… and I don't have any cookies right now and Lady-san won't give me any."

"Lady-san?"

"The lady over there." Yume pointed at the older daycare employee who was currently chasing a young boy who needed a diaper change.

"Oh…"

Yume's eyes started to tear up. "And I wanted to show it to you so bad…" She began to cry.

"Don't cry, brat. We'll deal with this problem together. Now where are these scumbags?" Yume pointed across the room where the two five-year-olds stood in front of a door, trying to look tough. "Shall we go teach them a lesson?" Knives asked with a mischievous grin.

Yume's eyes widened and her customary grin popped back into being. She squealed in delight and jumped into Knives' lap. While she hugged him close and exclaimed about how he was the best person she had ever met, Yume managed to wipe her tears and snot all over his plug suit once more. Knives felt his stomach rebel but as he did not eat, he had nothing to throw up.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Yume joyously cried out, hopping down from his lap. She cocked her head to one side as she looked at him. "I'm gonna have to push you, right?"

"Yes, my brother is not present to do that."

Yume scrunched up her nose as she walked behind Knives' wheelchair and began pushing him toward the two trouble-making boys. "Wow, Knives-sama! You don't weigh much, huh?"

"I don't eat."

"Then how do you live?"

Knives smiled, "That's a secret. Though maybe, someday, I will tell you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woohoo! ^_^ I love all of you people! You rule! *huggles everyone* Everyone has had such enthusiastic responses to Yume that it just makes me feel so wonderful! ^_^ I didn't think I'd have this many reviews by the third chapter! Wow! O.O;; This chap was longer then normal because I felt you people deserved it. ^_^

Yume: *appears out of nowhere* They love me! ^_^ And I love them!

Jeril: Yume? What are you doing here? Get back in the fic!

Yume: Meep! Noooo! I want to stay here with you! *clings to Jeril's leg* Don't make me leave, Author-sama!

Jeril: O.o;; The name's Jeril.

Yume: ^_^ Okay, Author-sama!

Jeril: *sigh* Go bug the reviewers.

Yume: Okay, Author-sama! *runs off to find a reviewer to glomp*

Jeril: She's an odd little basket of fruit all right… o.o;;;

Anyway, as you might have guessed, Knives is going to be a little OOC in this fic because of this friendship that's developing with Yume. *cries* I dun like OOC chars… but then this fic idea wouldn't work out… Gomen!


	4. Caught in the Spider's Web

"Kole! Jack!" Yume said as she rolled Knives over to where the two boys stood.

"What do you want, Yume?" the smaller of the two boys asked timidly.

"I want to get into the toy closet!"

"You got any cookies?" the tubbier boy asked.

"No."

"Then you can't get in!" he stated, stomping down a foot.

"Please Jack?" she pleaded with the boy.

"No! Not without any cookies!" he exclaimed, his face getting red from anger.

"You look like you don't need any more of these 'cookies,' boy," Knives stated.

"What?" Jack looked at Knives with narrow eyes set in his pudgy face.

"You are quite all right at the size you are right now. In fact, you could lose some weight and still be fine."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No. That word never once entered into this conversation until you mentioned it. You spiders should not jump to conclusions as quick as you do."

"But you've been thinking it!"

"I have been merely thinking that you can do without these 'cookies'. In fact, your friend over there could do with a few. His ribs are showing," Knives observed.

"Jack! Have you been taking Kole's lunch?" Yume stood up tall and glared at the bigger boy.

"Uh… no!" Jack shook his head, "I would never do such a thing!"

"It looks like it to me," commented the Plant.

"You shut up, you mean jerk!" the overweight child roared.

"Jack!" the elderly daycare employee rushed over, "Don't be so mean to our visitor!" She turned to Knives, "I'm so sorry, sir. He's such a rude boy."

Knives stared back at the lady with an expression of disdain.

She looked away uncomfortably and grabbed Jack's hand, "Come on, Jack! We're going to go have a little chat..."

After the two left, Kole turned to Yume. "Thanks Yume."

"For what?" she looked surprised.

"For telling him off like that. He's been taking my lunches for a while now…" Kole looked down at the ground.

"Awh! Poor Kole! C'mon! I'll give you half of my lunch!" she grabbed the other boy's hand and dragged him away.

Knives was left behind, forgotten. The Plant sighed. Sometimes the girl's spontaneous nature was such an annoyance. _Wait? What am I thinking? It's always an annoyance!_ Knives stretched out in his chair and waited for the human child to return.

He did not have to wait long for a few minutes later she came back. "Oh Knives-sama! I'm so sorry for leaving you here all alone like that! Gomen nasai!"

"Apology accepted, though don't do that again," Knives said with a frown. "Now what is this thing that was so important for us to retrieve?"

"Oh, right!" Yume bounced over to the toy closet door and opened it. She dove into the wild mess inside and soon came out with a small wooden box. Yume handed it to Knives and then pushed him back over to their table. She then clambered up onto Knives' lap and sat there, fiddling with the lid of the box for a little.

"Well, are you going to show it to me or not?" Knives demanded in an annoyed tone.

Yume winced. "Before I show you… can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me this question after you show it to me."

"Please?"

Knives rolled his eyes. _Humans and their curiosity…_ "What is it?"

"Why… why did you help me with Jack?"

The question caught Knives off guard. He had not really thought about what he was doing when he did it so he had no answer ready. "Um… I…" he thought quick. "You are an annoying child, but even more so when sad. I did not want to have to deal with that and so I sought out the cause of your sadness and destroyed it."

"So you wanted me to be happy?" Yume's eyes lit up and she grinned, "Knives-sama, you're such a wonderful person! You want me to be happy!" she gave him one of her big, near bone-crushing hugs and the box was sandwiched between them.

Knives sighed while he tried to stop the girl from strangling him on accident. She always took what he said the wrong way. She twisted it around and turned it upside down so that it might suit the way she wanted to look at the world just like the way she manipulated him. Somehow, against his will, she managed to con him into doing and saying things he did not want to do or say.

Or maybe the case was that she saw a hidden meaning in his actions and harsh words… Knives shook his head. No, no. She was a human, and a child at that. She could not be that perceptive, even if there was something behind the things he did for her.

"Well, anyway, this is a matching pictures game!" she flipped open the lid and showed him all the little tiles stuck into the inside. She flipped on of the tiles over and on it was a Thompson, "See, it's a memory game!" She overturned another and it was a sand steamer. "Wrong one!" she flipped them both over. "Choose one, Knives-sama!"

"I do not want to play any games at the moment," Knives stated.

"Awh! But Knives-sama! Games are your friends!" Yume's face fell and she stuck out her lip and pouted a little.

"I do not agree with your philosophy."

"Just one game? Just one?" she perked up and gave him her best pair of puppy eyes.

"No."

"If you don't like it, you can quit playing it after a bit! Please, please, pleeeeeeeease?" Knives glared at the child and she just stared back with her wide, adorable eyes.

Finally, with a sigh, the Plant gave in and pointed to a random tile. Yume squealed with delight and turned it over to reveal a lizard. She paused for a half a minute until he realized she was waiting for him to choose another. With a little grumble, he pointed to another. It was a Thompson. She squealed and flipped over the Thompson one from before. Using her little fingers, she dug under the two wooden tiles and popped them out.

"You broke it!" Knives accused the girl.

"No, I didn't, silly Knives-sama! They're supposed to come out!" she put one of them back in. "See?" She poked his nose with the other tile and giggled.

"Oh…" Knives felt his cheeks flush slightly from embarrassment as she popped out the tile and then set the pair on the table. He flipped over another tile hurriedly to take the attention off himself.

They played that game for a few 'rounds', taking turns and then seeing who had the most pairs at the end. Knives did not want to admit it, but the little girl was better at remembering where the pieces were then he, the superior being. _Maybe my age _is_ getting to me…_ he mused to himself for a moment and then discarded the absurd notion. He was a Plant and as near to immortal as possible. Age was irrelevant to a member of his race.

Vash plopped down on a bench outside. He had been playing with the kids for the last hour and they had worn him down well. "C'mon Vash-san! Play some more!" one of the boys whined, pulling on his red leather trench coat.

"No, no. I'm too tired!" Vash waved his hands in the air as if to ward off the boy's plea.

"Oh… okay…" the boy looked crestfallen as he turned to leave the tall blonde in peace.

"I'll play with you all when I come back tomorrow though."

"Yay!" the boy jumped up and ran off to spread the good news. Vash chuckled. Children were such wonderful individuals; so energetic and full of youth and innocence. Yet at the same time, they could hold within their minds, wisdom beyond their years and simple solutions to problems more complex then anything they had ever dealt with.

Thinking of children, he remembered he had left his brother in the daycare unattended with the human girl. Since no screams had been issuing from the building, he surmised things were going quite well. Still, he went to check on them. One could never be sure when Knives was concerned. That Plant had the bad habit of doing things that his brother could never expect. Nevertheless, Vash was pleasantly surprised when he walked in on Knives and Yume having a discussion on what color was the best out of all the others.

"I like blue! It's the prettiest in all different shades!" Yume said, scribbling on a piece of paper with a blue crayon.

"What color is the paper you are drawing on?" Knives asked.

"White, of course."

"And what colors can you put on white paper?"

"All of the colors."

"And they keep their original color whereas with others, such as blue and yellow, when the two mix, they turn to green. And with red and blue, it turns to purple. Thus, white is obviously the most superior color because you can do anything with it."

Yume looked up at Knives with wide eyes, "Wow, Knives-sama. You are so smart. I would've never thought of that."

"That's why I am superior to you," he said with a slight smirk.

"Hello Knives! Hello Yume!" Vash exclaimed, plopping down in a chair next to Yume.

"Hiya Person-san!" Yume grinned.

"How're you and Knives getting along?"

"Horrible."

"Great! He's so wonderful and smart!"

"Well, that's good to hear," Vash smiled. "But I have some bad news. Knives and I have to go home now."

"Awh… but Knives-sama and I were having so much fun… I don't want him to go…" Yume said, with a little sniffle.

"And I'm sure he doesn't want to go either but we have to."

"He'll be back tomorrow though, right?" Yume asked hopefully.

"Yes, he will."

"Okay!" she gave Knives one last hug. "Buh bye, Knives-sama! See you tomorrow! Sleep well! Have good dreams!"

_Sayonara, little one,_ Yume looked up at Knives. He smiled slightly at her and she grinned back. Smiling, Vash rolled Knives out of the daycare. It had been a good day.

Knives could not help but look back at the daycare. There, standing in the window, was the girl. She pressed her hand against the glass and smiled at him. _Bye…_

Knives blinked and stared at the little girl who was left behind. She had sent him a thought. It was small and nearly imperceptible, but it had been there. Then, they turned a corner and she no longer was in view.

Out of sight, but not out of mind.

"How was your day?" Meryl asked, looking up from her typewriter as Vash and Knives entered the house.

"Fun. Those kids sure have a lot of energy," Vash answered.

_Brother, I am tired. I wish to go to sleep early today. Take me to my room._

Vash smiled, _All that play tired you out?_

_Something like that._

"I'll be right back," Vash told Meryl. Meryl simply nodded, used to the little silent conversations Vash and Knives held followed by actions not justified by their previously spoken words.

Vash wheeled Knives to his room and then left. He never asked Knives how he moved around his room, changed his clothes or bathed. He just left those personal parts of Knives' life to Knives. Knives smiled a little. At least Vash gave him that much control over his life.

Knives waited to stand until he was sure Vash was back in the living room. He stretched his legs and other cramped muscles; glad he could finally move as he wanted. He changed into more suitable clothes for sleeping and then lay in his bed, covered by a thin sheet.

Sleep eluded his pursuit though. Instead, he could not help but think about the girl at the daycare. He did not know why she occupied his mind so much. She was just a human brat, like all the others. But no… there was something different about her. Something he had never seen before. Something special.

And that latent telepathic ability she had shown today at the last moment he had seen her surprised him to no end. It was very weak and almost on the same level as having no ability at all but it still was surprising. He had only met one other human with any kind of telepathic ability and that was Legato Bluesummers. Knives had to teach him to harness his power or else the human would have never reached the ability level he had when death finally claimed him.

Knives sighed and turned on his stomach, stretching out his arms beneath his pillow. Under the fluffy object, his hands encountered something square and flimsy. Knives furrowed his brow as he pulled out a piece of paper. He had not put it under there and could not think of anyone who would. If Vash or one of the stupid human girls had something to tell him, they would just say it and not leave it in a written statement.

Slowly, Knives unfolded the paper to read the contents…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Yume-chan and Knives-sama are bonding! Woohoo! Yay for Yume! *gives Yume a shirt with Knives on it*

Yume: It's Knives-sama! *eyes shine* Arigato, Author-sama! *glomp*

Jeril: Meep! *is glomped* Wah! Off, off, off! Personal space is needed by one such as I! I will give you cake if you let go!

Yume: *releases Jeril and takes cake* Arigato, Author-sama! *happily eats cake*

Jeril: Whew… Anyway, what is this note Knives-sama has found under his pillow? Is it hate mail? Or is it a letter from a lawyer saying his granddaddy just died and left him billions of double dollars? It's definitely not that… *lol* Or could it be a love letter? If so, from whom? ^_^;; Come back in one week or so to find out!


	5. In Fear of a Demon

The letter read as follows:

_Greetings, my Master._

_It is Legato Bluesummers, as you might already have presumed. I am contacting you from a new headquarters I have set up so that Vash the Stampede cannot find us. I am waiting for your return, Master. _

_Oh yes, I suspect you are wondering how I lived. Vash the Stampede's bullet did not hit anything important._

Knives read the short letter and sat up in his bed. He wondered for a moment if this was perhaps a trick Vash had set up but no. The defined, flowing, well-formed script was clearly the work of his minion along with the letter's structure itself: clear, concise, to the point, and abrupt, just like the human who had written it.

Legato Bluesummers had lived? Well, this certainly changed Knives' plans. He had been postponing his escape from his brother because he did not know where to go and he had no ideas. Now, he had a new headquarters already set up and his most faithful minion waiting there for him. Knives smiled. Yes, soon he would leave his brother and his annoying human friends far behind.

Knives furrowed his brow and stared at the paper. Legato had not said where he was. _I guess I will have to contact my minion to discover his location,_ Knives thought to himself as he folded the paper up and stuck it in his pocket. Then, he lay down on his bed, making sure to be as comfortable as he could. He did not know how long he would be out for.

Taking a few deep breaths and slowly releasing them, Knives prepared himself as he gazed out of a window on the opposite wall and at the moons, which had just risen. Closing his eyes, he let loose his consciousness and spread it out over the planet, searching for his minion. Legato would not be terribly far away, so Knives skipped over the other side of Gunsmoke and focused his search within a radius of five hundred iles.

_Greetings Master,_ Legato's mental voice was strong and clear as the mental link was established between the two. Legato was not as strong a telepath as Knives or else he would have searched out Knives as Knives did him.

_Greetings Legato. You neglected to tell me your location in your letter._ Knives projected disapproval to his minion.

_I apologize Master, but I worried that Vash the Stampede might find and read the letter and learn of my survival and position._

_Which is?_

_I am currently residing in the town of Gorge. I believe you are aware of where it lies._

_Quite._

_When will you be arriving here, Master?_

_I am not sure yet._

_Then I shall stay here waiting for you until you arrive, Master._

Knives broke the connection and returned to the comfort of his body. He looked outside and saw that, by the placement of the moons relative to when he had last seen them, a few hours had passed. The Plant stretched out a few complaining muscles and then lay down on his bed where sleep soon overtook him.

Yume happily skipped home, her long black hair streaming out behind her in a cascading river. Her friend Kole was running after her in an attempt to keep up. "Yume! Slow down!" Kole gasped out as he desperately tried to keep up with his energetic friend.

"But why? I just want to run all over and give everyone a hug!" Yume grinned, pausing for a minute, "I've had a great, wonderful, spifferific day and nothing can bring me down!"

"Heh… that's good," Kole smiled weakly as he leaned on a nearby building, trying to catch his breath, "But can you please slow down? Pretty please?"

"Hai, hai!" Yume smiled back and, when Kole caught up, she walked next to him at a slower, easier pace. "Why do you need to walk so slow anyway?"

Kole coughed into hand for a few minutes before he answered, "I can't walk fast because I lose my breath easily and, sometimes, I even have trouble breathing. Once, I nearly died because I couldn't get any air."

"Awh! Poor Kole!" Yume gave her friend a hug, "I wish I could switch breathing with you so I would have your problem and you could just have my normal breathing."

"Oh, I wouldn't want you to have this, Yume. It stinks," Kole wheezed.

"Look! There's your house! And there's your mom waiting on the porch!" Yume waved at Kole's mother, "Hiya Kole's mom!"

"Why, hello Yume-chan! How are you and Kole-chan doing?" Kole's mother smiled at Yume and her son as the two children walked off the main street and up the shirt path to Kole's home.

"I'm doing great, but Kole's breathing is bad," Yume answered, looking very serious.

"Really? Have you been exercising Kole-chan?" Kole's mother crouched down and looked her son in the eye. "You know the doctor told you not to."

"I'm sorry, mom, but-"

"It was all my fault!" Yume burst out, looking like she was on the verge of tears, "I was running home and I forced Kole to run after me, 'cause I forgot he has breath problems!"

"Oh, okay. Just don't forget again, okay Yume-chan? Kole-chan's condition could worsen if he exercises a lot."

"I won't, I promise!" Yume vowed.

"Thank you, Yume-chan," Kole's mother smiled sweetly and gave Yume a large hug, "You're such a wonderful child!"

"Mom, can Yume stay over and play today?" Kole asked hopefully.

"Kole-chan, your father has people coming over for dinner and that's just going to be in a short while. No, sorry. I wish Yume-chan could stay over though."

"Oh…" Kole's face fell.

"But how about tomorrow?"

"Yay!" Kole grinned and he and Yume danced around . Kole's mother smiled as she watched the two exchange good-byes. Kole did not have many friends other then Yume. They had met earlier that year and, Yume being the type of person she was, they became fast friends quickly. He was an easy target for bullies and, since most of the boys at the daycare played sports all of the time, he did not have much in common with anyone. But he and Yume both shared a love for drawing and reading and in the fertile fields of that common ground, a wonderful friendship had blossomed and grown strong and tall.

"Bye!" Yume called out as she left her friend and his mother.

"See you tomorrow!" Kole stood on the porch, waving farewell with his mother, her hand on his shoulder, both of them smiling at the sweet girl who trod down the street, away from their little home.

Yume waited until she was far down the street before letting the smile fade from her face. She wished she could stay with Kole and his mother for forever. She loved them both so much. Kole was like the brother she never had and his mother was one of the most wonderful women she had ever met in her short lifetime. Their home was like a home away from home to Yume. Kole had never been over to hers or even met her parents. Neither had his mother.

Yume never admitted it to anyone else, but she never wanted to leave the daycare when the day ended. She wanted to stay as far away from her home as she possibly could. She did not like her home. Not one bit.

The small black-haired girl paused at the entrance to the small path that lead to her house and gazed at the ramshackle building that stood before her. The white paint was peeling off the structure, showing the old, split wood underneath and the windows were cracked, even broken and boarded up in a few areas. The small yard had a tiny sandbox with a few toys left out in it but was barren other then that.

It was not that Yume was ashamed of her house, far from it. She loved the old building and believed all the little cracks and broken boards and windows gave the home character. No, what the dear little child was ashamed of was what lay inside the home. Her family.

The old, dented door creaked as the child opened it slowly and slipped off her shoes. It banged shut behind her and she dropped her little bag by the door as she made her way to the kitchen where she could hear the sounds of her mother making dinner. "Hi mommy," Yume said softly, her personality taking a complete one-eighty from her actions and words at the daycare.

"Hello Yume-chan," Yume's mother smiled a little smile at her daughter as she cut up vegetables and put them in a pan she had on the stove.

Yume looked at the clock on the wall. It was six at night. "Where's daddy?"

"He's not home yet," the small smile that had been on her mother's face for a few moments faded into a look of intense sorrow, "He'll be getting home late tonight. He's out drinking again." Yume's mother began to cry, her tears dripping down into the vegetables.

"Oh…" Yume swallowed and took a seat at the table. When her father drank, bad things happened. It was going to be another one of _those_ nights. She felt a tear form at the corner of her eye but she blinked it away. She would not cry. She would be strong for her mother who could barely stir the cooking food now that she had mentioned what the night would hold for the two females of the household.

Yume suddenly stood and rushed over to her mother who enveloped her child in a tight embrace. "Mommy, it's okay. Maybe daddy will stay out all of tonight…" Yume said, her voice ringing of false hope as she clutched her mother to her in a fierce hug. He did that some nights, but they both knew he would come home tonight. The only question left was; _When?_

That question was quickly answered when they both heard the front door open and then slam shut. Yume took a deep breath, let go of her mother and dashed back over to the table, quickly seating herself.

_If I'm good, maybe he will be nice tonight. If I'm perfect maybe he won't hurt mommy… maybe he'll just go to sleep like he used to… maybe he'll just go away and never come back… Oh God, why does daddy have to be like this? I miss the old daddy so much… Why did he change? What did I do? _Yume felt the tears beginning but she furiously scrubbed at her face with her little fists. If her father saw her crying… _I won't cry for him!_

He stormed in, reeking of liquor and cheap perfume. Yume knew the perfume meant he had been doing something other then drinking, but her mother would not tell her what it was and she did not dare ask her father. "Hi daddy," she chirped weakly. He turned and gave her _the _look.

Yes… it was going to be another one of _those_ nights…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Kudos to my beta-reader and best buddy, Kyoko-sama, who wrote Legato's letter for me. ^_^;; I'm still not quite sure about how to write his character so I'm going to search out a few non-OOC Legato fics and re-watch his Trigun episodes so I can get a better grip on how he acts, his personality, etc.

And yes, it is possible for humans to live through a bullet to the head, though it is very rare and they usually are incapacitated in some way.

To answer your question Vertigo, I don't know. She may, or she may not. Yume-chan doesn't really like to use people's names. She kind of bases her names for people on what they do, how they act, etc. so if she finds something better, she'll call him that. Actually, he'll probably end up being "Donut-san", heh. ^_^;;

Poor little Yume-chan… ;-; I'm going to go cry now… *sniffles*

I've used a lot of Japanese with my English in some of my stories before and I'm trying to cut down on the amount I use in this fic but for the words I have used so far, here are some translations for those of you who might not know what they mean:

-sama: term of high respect, used for deities, rulers, and someone you respect a whole lot (i.e. God-sama)

-san: Mr., Mrs., Ms. kind of thing (i.e. Piccolo-san = Mr. Piccolo)

hai: yes

-chan: term of affection, parent to child, girl to girl, used between sweethearts and sometimes for pets


	6. The Absence of Dreams

Knives woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed from a long, unbroken, dreamless sleep. He stretched out in his bed and lay staring out of the window counter to him. The sunlight shone through in a long, unbroken beam of light in which the dust motes danced and frolicked, basking in the heat. Knives ran a hand through his short, light blond hair and stood. He quickly changed into a spare plug suit he had and then sat down in his wheelchair to await the arrival of his brother.

He did not have to wait long. Vash must have been listening in for any mental activity that signified that Knives was awake for soon the twin knocked on the door, "Knives? Can I come in?"

"Hai." The door opened and Vash stepped in. His hair was tousled and he rubbed an eye with a fist, yawning slightly. "Good morning, Vash. Sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks for asking. How was your rest?"

"Quite refreshing."

"You were up late last night…" Vash moved around Knives' chair and pushed him out of his room.

"I was thinking."

"Ah." They moved quickly down the hall and into the dining room where Milly and Meryl were setting out breakfast. Vash rolled Knives up to the table and then took a seat next to him as the two women seated themselves also. Vash looked over the toast, pancakes, sausages, and other delicious looking edibles that were set out on the table. "Looks wonderful," he commented.

"Thank you, Vash-san. I'm glad you like it," Milly smiled as she placed two slices of toast on her plate.

"Vash, I placed the excess money in an account at the local back. I'll give you the account number in case you ever need to withdraw some money. It is under your name and mine," Meryl told the Plant as he ate. The money Meryl was referring to was the large amount of cash that Vash was paid every month for remaining in the same place and staying out of trouble. It was quite a nice sum and had paid for the house, furniture, and the food they were eating at that moment.

Meryl and Milly also had volunteered to stay with him to make sure that he did just that, even though they knew he would anyhow. They were being paid for living with barely any work at all and since it was part of their job currently, it prevented them from being assigned somewhere else.

"All right," Vash answered around a hunk of sausage. The rest of the breakfast was enjoyed in almost complete silence, broken by the occasional request to pass a plate or refill a drink.

Knives watched his brother and the human women consume the food with a frown. Humans were such a waste of resources. Superior beings such as he did not require any kind of edibles to live. Humans on the other hand had to at _least_ three times a day to survive. The Plant shook his head. No wonder they were so slow and dim-witted. They spent all their energy digesting food to produce more energy that would be used for the same purpose. Yes, they were undoubtedly inferior in every way possible.

Finally, Vash stood and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He brought his dirty dishes to the kitchen and helped the two women clean up the table. Then, he turned to his twin. "Are you ready to go, Knives?"

_I have been waiting for you to finish since you started_, Knives answered as Vash began wheeling him towards the front door.

"We'll be back in a few hours, Meryl!"

"Have fun."

"We will!" Vash called back as he exited the house, pushing his brother ahead of him.

_Speak for yourself, brother._

_Awh, Knives. Don't be like that. Be happy! It's a beautiful day!_

Knives glared at his brother. _Then why don't we go anywhere _but _the daycare?_

_You know you're looking forward to it!_ Vash smiled knowingly at his brother.

_I. Am. Not. _Knives' eyes flashed with anger as he turned around in his wheelchair to glare at his brother. _If I had the means to, I would destroy this town as quick as I possibly could along with all of its human occupants._

Vash lowered his eyes and sighed silently. When would Knives stop threatening humans? No, what the question truly was; would he ever stop? The rest of the walk to the daycare was silent as Knives sat fuming in his seat and Vash sadly walked along, contemplating his brother's set state of mind.

Knives braced himself as Vash rolled him through the daycare's entrance. At any moment, the black-haired brat would come flying towards him, screaming in that annoying voice of hers, "Knives-sama!" She would smash into him within the next minute. He just knew it. But strangely enough, a minute passed and then another, and the girl did not make her appearance.

"Where is she?" Vash spoke aloud Knives' question, looking about the room as he searched for the child.

"Who are you looking for, dear?" the friendly elderly daycare employee asked.

"A little girl by the name of Yume."

"Oh, she didn't come today, dear. She misses a lot of days, you know." The older woman nodded to herself.

_Find out why,_ Knives told his brother.

Vash looked over at his twin oddly but complied with his order. He also was interested in why Yume was not present. "Really? Is she ill all the time or something?"

"Yes."

"So she naturally has poor health?"

"I guess that would be the logical thing to believe."

"What's she sick with?"

"I don't know…"

"Could you find out for me? Please? I want to know if it's anything serious."

"Yume's sick?" a boy asked, walking up to the adults. Knives recognized him as the boy from the day before. "How bad is she?"

"All right, all right," the woman chuckled, "I'll call and find out."

"Thank you!" the boy smiled broadly.

"Yes, thanks." Vash smiled also. The woman walked over to a desk, pulled out a large notebook and began flipping through the pages, searching for the girl's phone number. She found it, picked up the phone and dialed the number.

*Ring* *Ring* "H-hello?" the weak voice answered from the other end.

"Yume's mother? This is the daycare."

"Oh, good morning."

"We are inquiring into your daughter's absence today. Is she ill?"

"Oh… why?"

"Health reasons. If she has something, we need to know so we can deal with any infections that might occur." The old woman was quick with excuses.

"You've never called before…"

"A new procedure."

"Ah… Well, yes, she is sick."

"With what?"

"Nothing bad, just a cold. She should be back tomorrow or the day after."

"All right then. You sound ill yourself."

"I do seem to have caught it from her."

"Well, I wish you well. Good day."

"Bye." *Click*

The old woman turned back to Vash and the boy. "It's all right. It's just a minor cold."

"Oh, good! I was afraid she had something really bad!" the boy exclaimed in a relieved tone.

Vash thanked the woman again for calling and then rolled his brother over to the table that Yume usually occupied. Vash sat down in a chair and stretched. "This is looking to be a rather dull day. That girl seems to liven up things around here."

Soon, Yume's friend came over and began to talk to Vash. Now with no one to talk to, Knives lay his head back in his wheelchair to try to think instead. How was the girl sick? She had shown no symptoms the day before. Knives took a deep breath and let his body relax as he released his consciousness over the town, searching for the girl. He wanted to know for himself how she was doing.

After a short time, he found her. Her mentally activity was low, so Knives guessed she was either sleeping or doing nothing at all. He barely nudged her mind with his. _Knives-sama?_ A weak voice queried out to him.

He was surprised that she knew who he was by that small amount of mental contact but quickly covered it. _You are ill?_

She hesitated. _Yes._

Knives snorted mentally. _You lie. I can tell._

_It is part of the truth._ Her usual excitement and buoyancy that was part of her had disappeared, replaced by a timid, shy, weak personality.

_Tell me all of it._

_Not now. I'm tired._

_I will not let you rest until you tell me._

_Then you tell me first how you don't eat but still manage to live._

Knives paused. He could not explain photosynthesis to a five-year old. Her mind was too small and undeveloped to grasp the concept. _Damn you._

She let out a mental giggle that tickled his mind with her amusement. It was a small part of whom she truly was leaking through. _I got you!_

_Tell me tomorrow then?_

_Maybe. Bye, Knives-sama. See you later._

Knives growled to himself as he cut off the telepathic link. The stupid brat had tricked him! She had tricked _him_! Millions Knives! A superior being! How could he have fallen into that trap? He just did not understand it.

Knives cracked open an eye to see the boy (was Kole his name?) talking to Vash. Knives closed his eyes again. He was _so_ bored. He actually would not mind the girl's company so much now as he had nothing else to distract him. At least she kept him amused with her insane, little antics.

He opened his eyes once more and watched the young human children play in the daycare. There were at least twenty of the little pests crawling around inside the building. _Inferior spawn…_ he sneered; _I would like nothing better then to kill them._ He shook his head. One day he would eradicate all of the humans. It was only a matter of time…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Sorry this was shorter then normal. I'll try to make the next chapter extra long. You see, I wrote this late, late at night and I am so tired. ~_~ I couldn't think of any other things to put in it because I'm brain-dead and I'm so glad I have Kyoko-sama as my beta-reader. She caught all my errors and corrected them for me. Be glad you don't have to be subjected to some of them. They were soooooo bad… _ 'Anyway' instead of 'anywhere'… Sheesh…

I was informed that in the manga, Knives used a telephone so I have them in this story. I can't remember if they have them in the anime but they have cars and radios. I would think they'd have telephones…

-_-;; I've been spelling Milly's name wrong all along. I was spelling it 'Millie'. *smacks self* Stupid, stupid, stupid! Anyway, I went back and changed all that and then added in some other little things. Nothing too important though so if you don't reread it, you won't miss anything.

Oh, don't worry people. Yume's father will get what he deserves, as do all evildoers. Except Knives-sama and Legato-chan of course. ^_^;; They're too special for that. And they aren't evil.

Yume: *shining eyes* You think Knives-sama is special too? *glomps Jeril* Yay!

Jeril: @_@ God help me… *Yume lets go* Okay… Yume, do you know what time it is?

Yume: Nope!

Jeril: It's 12:53 am and I think this little author's note has gotten too long and so you're going to bed and so am I. Good night everyone!

Yume: Night night! And remember to review! ^_^


	7. Restore your Bleak Reality

Yume walked to daycare the next morning, her small feet dragging slowly. She was tired even though she had slept through the day before, only waking to eat. Recovering from sickness or injuries tends to take a lot out of people, especially children and the elderly. She had dreamt a lot throughout the day and night as she had slept.

One of her dreams was of a giant, golden-yellow bird that she had flown on the back of over the desert. With the wind running through her hair and the feeling of absolute freedom flying brought her, Yume had felt wonderful as all her worries melted away.

Then suddenly black storm clouds rolled in over the sky, catching her and the bird out in the open. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as the bird frantically tried to fly ahead of the storm but its desperate efforts were in vain. A long line of lightning had cut across the bird's path and it panicked and swerved, dumping the child it bore.

Yume fell through the dark, cold sky as the now harsh and brutal wind ripped at her body and jerked tears out of her small eyes. She opened her mouth and screamed as she fell. Soon, the tears were not coming fast enough for the terrified child. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished futilely to be at the daycare, home—anywhere but there, falling down for what seemed like a never-ending period of time.

As her trembling lips mouthed words of hope and prayer, Yume noticed the wind and biting cold die away as she hit the ground on her side. Slowly, she sat up and dared to crack open an eye to see what had happened. Yume stood up and found a black nothingness surrounding her, a great void with a total absence of light. _True night…_ she thought as fear began clouding her mind. She reached out to find something to grasp onto to steady both her body and mind but nothing was to be found in the great abyss.

"Mommy?" she called out to the darkness, looking for one who would bring her comfort. No one came to her aid however and, for a long time that seemed to exist for all eternity to the small girl, she was alone in the endless darkness.

Suddenly, she felt the light brush of a familiar mind against hers. _Knives-sama?_ She called to his mind, drowning her fears in the hope that he was nearby.

_You are ill?_ His short and to-the-point reply took a few moments to come back.

She paused. In a way, she was. _Yes._

_You lie. I can tell._

She smiled to herself weakly, although the dark gloom still surrounded her. _It is part of the truth._

_Tell me all of it._

_Not now. I'm tired._

_I will not let you rest until you tell me._

She thought quickly in order to escape having to tell him at that moment. _Then you tell me first how you don't eat but still manage to live._

_Damn you._ She could hear his frustration leaking into his voice.

Yume giggled. _I got you!_

_Tell me tomorrow then?_

_Maybe. Bye, Knives-sama. See you later._ Then, as quick as he had come, his mind was gone from her reach. Yume smiled to the darkness. It did not seem so lonely anymore now that she knew someone could reach her here.

Yume blinked and noticed a change in her surroundings. The darkness was no longer as dark as before. It was getting lighter and new colors were fading into existence around her. Yume watched, captivated, as flowers sprung into existence under her feet and a blue, wide-open sky formed overhead. She smiled and flopped down in a patch of grass, stretching luxuriously. She had only heard of patches of fertile land like this and they usually happened around the Plant bulbs.

She sat up and looked around, then gasped in amazement. Flying towards her was a giant, multi-colored butterfly. Yume stared in awe at the beautiful, six-legged, winged insect as it landed gracefully next to her. Then the butterfly's shape and form warped and slurred, blurring around in a swirling circle of light and colors that traced its way in random directions and patterns in front of Yume. She watched, fascinated, by the twisting stream of color as it finally began to solidify into a new shape and form... that of Knives.

"Knives-sama!" Yume grinned.

"Come on, Yume!" Knives smiled at her and then ran off through the flowers.

Yume laughed and ran after him. "Come back, Knives-sama!"

"Catch me if you can!" he called back to her, a large, silly grin plastered on his face. Yume bounced through the yellow, red, blue and white colored flowers, enjoying one of the happiest moments of her life.

And that had been the point at which she had woken up to experience yet another day on the dreary desert planet that was her home.

Yume pushed open the daycare door and walked wearily in. She smiled at a few people who looked over at her as she made her way to her little table. She plopped down in a chair and put her lunch bag on the table. She folded her arms, placed them on the table, and then laid her head down to use them as a cushion. Within a few short minutes, she was fast asleep.

"If the child is not there today, brother, we are leaving as soon as we arrive," Knives told Vash as the Plant wheeled him down the street.

"But Knives, the kids will be so disappointed! I told them we'd continue our checkers tournament today!" Vash complained.

"Those human brats will have to wait then," Knives growled.

Vash stopped for a moment as he looked in the window of a pastry store. "Hang on a minute, Knives! I'll be right back!"

"No! Vash! Don't leav-" but Knives' twin had already disappeared inside to his wonderful world of confectionary sweets and pasties. Knives glared at the store and cursed humans for inventing the baked goods that were called 'donuts.' _Vash!_ Knives mentally howled, _Get out of that little hellhole and come back out here!_

_But Knives… they're too beautiful… and I'm _so_ hungry…_ Vash's voice came back, drained of energy as if he was straining to stay in contact with his brother.

_Don't you dare eat any of them, Vash!_

_I can't help it! I love them too much!!_ Vash's voice pumped up with energy as he fought his brother mentally. He would not give up his donuts at any cost!

_Come back out here this instant or I'm coming in there after you! And believe you me; what I do to the humans in the vicinity will _not_ be pretty!_

_Be out in a moment! _Vash's mental voice called back in a singsong tone.

Knives ground his teeth together and made a mental note to shoot Vash next time he had the chance and his gun. The 'moment' turned into a long, unproductive, and quite boring, half hour. When Vash finally came out, Knives was shooting death glares at a group of giggling, teenage girls across the street. They kept pointing at him and then bursting out into a fresh fit of giggles.

"Vash, I demand for you to take me over there so I may kill that accumulation of human scum."

"Knives, I don't think they have deserved anything even remotely close to death…"

"Take me over there _now_!"

"Okay, okay…" Vash slid a large, brown bag into an even larger pocket under Knives' chair.

"Vash, what is in that bag?" Knives asked as they began to cross the street.

"Um, nothing?"

"Vash…"

"Just a few donuts…"

"'Just a few'?"

"Awh, okay, okay. A lot. But they're not for me! I bought them for the children!"

"You're wasting your money on those disgusting beasts?"

"Yes, I want to do something for them and it is _my_ money. I can do whatever I want with it. I have more than enough, that is for sure."

"Just don't eat any yourself. You are going to get fat."

"I thought we were superior beings," Vash teased, "How can I get fat? Besides, I tried once, just for the hell of it. No matter how much I ate, I did not gain a pound."

"Why hello, handsome." Knives looked up and into the eyes of a pretty, brunette woman. Her shapely curves caught his eyes as he ran them over her and she smiled sultry at him. "What are you doing tonight, hun?"

Knives blinked. Was this human female trying to invite him to spend the night with her? He felt his stomach rebel. That was one of the most disturbing things he had ever thought of. A human wanting him in such a way… Erg… "I am plotting the destruction of the human race tonight, whore, and have no time for one such as you."

"Ooo, a feisty boy." A blond haired woman winked at Knives, "I bet you like to give it rough, huh?"

"The term 'give it rough' has no meaning to me whatsoever, unless it means that I will kill you. If that is it, then yes, I do."

The brunette made a purring noise and she slid herself into Knives' lap. "You and me, hun. We could go places…"

Vash had been standing behind his brother's chair the entire time with a jaw hanging wide open. _Damn him! He gets all the luck…_ the twin thought jealously.

Knives pushed the brunette off his lap harshly. "Touch me again, bitch, and I will break every bone in your body."

"Sounds like fun." The brunette ran her tongue over her upper lip sensuously as she sat up on the ground.

Vash laughed nervously and grabbed the handles of his brother's wheelchair, "We really have to be leaving."

"Hey, why is he that chair anyway?" the blond asked.

"Eh, he's paralyzed from the waist down…" Vash answered.

"Oh," the brunette's face fell, "Well, then he wouldn't be any fun even if he was willing." She looked at Vash and then smirked. Vash gulped. "How about you, boy? You, heh, _up_ for anything?"

Vash grinned at the girls, "Maybe…"

"Vash. Let us go. Now," Knives snapped.

"Vash? As in the Vash the Stampede?" the brunette's eyes widened and she got to her feet.

"Yeah, that's me." Vash winked at the girls.

"Ooo, you sexy man beast, you…" the blond sidled over and rubbed her back against Vash's side.

"Heh, yeah. That's definitely me."

"Have you no pride, Vash? Stop this behavior at once!" Knives snarled.

The blond stood up on her tiptoes so she could lick Vash's ear and then she smirked down at Knives. "Now that you're getting no attention, you're jealous. Just like a man."

Knives' hand shot out like a bullet from a gun and he grabbed the throat of the brunette who stood by his chair. He turn to glare at Vash as he tightened his grip on the brunette's windpipe. Her hands clawed frantically at his as she struggled to breathe. "We leave now, or I dispose of this garbage as it should be," Knives said calmly.

"Uh, sorry girl, but I have to go," Vash lightly pushed the girl away and looked at Knives, "Let her go and we will leave."

Knives complied and threw the brunette down. "Let us depart. I grow exceedingly weary of these spiders."

As the twins moved away from the two girls, the blond helped up her hurt friend. She called out after the Plants, "We'll report you!"

"Yeah, after all, we know your name, Vash the Stampede!"

Vash froze. "Shit… if they report me… it would mean that the Bernardelli Insurance Agency would stop paying me… I'll be right back." He left Knives and went back to the girls. After a few minutes of heated arguing and short trip to a nearby bank, he finally returned.

"What did you do?"

"I paid them off."

Knives raised an eyebrow. "Was it a large sum?"

"Yeah, I guess but I don't need the money."

"What is your guarantee that they will stay silent?"

Vash smiled a bit. "I told the girls we would hunt them down and made sure they died a long and horribly brutal death. I think they believed me."

Knives looked up at his brother and grinned. "There might yet be hope for you, Vash!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: I was expecting to get a lot more done in this chapter then what actually ended up happening but I had too much fun writing about the dreams, donuts, and the two whores!! ^_^;; I think the chapter was overall pretty good though.

Also, I didn't get the chance to run this through my beta-reader before I posted it. She is out on a trip and couldn't read this over. So I apologize for any errors or OOCness that might have occurred, especially in the part where Knives was interacting with the two girls. _ As soon as she can beta this and send it back, errors corrected, I'll post the revised version up. ^_^

And just to clarify things: Yes, Knives-sama was OOC in Yume's dream, but that was because it was a dream and that's the way she envisions Knives-sama. Anyway… O.o;; Can you imagine Knives-sama grinning as he ran through a field of flowers? Frankly, the very thought scares me… Yume, you are one warped child…

Yume: I love you too, Author-sama! *huggles Jeril*

Jeril: Garg… let go… @_@

Yume: But Author-sama, I love you too much!

Jeril: *eyes tear* Awh, precious Yume! Child of my heart! *huggles Yume back, then realizes what she is doing* Gack! *drops the girl* Do you know you could corrupt the most hardened criminal?

Yume: Isn't that what I'm doing with Knives-sama? *innocent grin*

Jeril: o.o;; Perceptive brat, isn't she?

Yume: Brat? *begins crying*

Jeril: Awh, for Christ's sake, kid! _ I'm kidding! You are far from bratty! But you do get a little _too_ emotional, a little _too_ often… Here. Have a donut. *gives Yume a donut*

Yume: *grins and takes the donut* Thank you, Author-sama! ^_^ *eats the donut happily*


	8. Musings of an Idle Mind

Knives looked around as his brother wheeled him into the daycare. Was the girl here? Knives found himself actually worrying a little. If the girl was not here then she might be more ill than they had stated. However, she was there, with her head rested on her folded arms as she slept quietly at her table. Vash rolled Knives over to the table and then left to give away the donuts to the daycare children.

Knives studied the sleeping child for a moment. She looked so innocent, as a light contented smile dwelled softly on her face. Knives felt something stirring within him, an emotion so foreign to him that he could not name it. He furrowed his brow in thought, searching for a name for this unknown feeling that sprouted and took root in his soul as he stared at the girl.

Finally, he decided that whatever it was, he would figure it out later. He could not waste his entire day sitting here, just thinking. He wanted to discover more about the child and why she had been absent the day before. Knives reached out and paused. He would not touch a spider willingly except in special cases, which usually involved violence and death. The spider's, of course.

He turned inward and gently brushed his mind with hers instead. He felt her mind come slowly to life, dragging her out of the deep, lethargic sleep she had fallen into. Yume's small head lifted off the table and she rubbed her eyes, looking around. _Knives-sama?_

"Greetings," Knives spoke aloud.

"Knives-sama!" Yume grinned brightly at him, "I'm so happy to see you! I missed you yesterday! Although I had two dreams with you in them!"

"Really?" Knives found it disturbing that she dreamed about him.

"Yeah! In one you just talked to me for a bit and then went away, but in the other you were running around through a field of flowers and we played tag and had a lot of fun!"

"That's… interesting…" Knives blinked. He, Millions Knives, the one who would bring about the final fall of mankind, play a game of _tag_? What was this human child thinking? It was absolutely absurd! And she thought their conversation last night had been a dream? "Why weren't you here yesterday?"

"...I was sick," the girl said, hesitating for a moment.

"You are lying again."

"Wait," realization crossed over her mind, "Last night when we talked, that wasn't a dream?"

"No, it was not."

"Wow! Knives-sama was _in_ my dream! Really in it! That's so cool!" she clapped her hands in glee.

"Yes, riveting. Now, tell me why you weren't here yesterday. The truth."

Yume's face fell. She picked at a scratch in the table. "I don't want to…"

"You are going to, whether you want to or not," Knives growled.

"It has to do with my family…" Yume did not look up and meet Knives' eyes.

"Tell me about them then so I will understand."

"How about I tell you about my family and me, and then I don't have to tell you why I wasn't here yesterday?"

Knives mentally snorted. A human child was bargaining with a superior being such as he? Impossible! But, then again, he did not really want to push her to tell him something she did not want to. If it was a touchy subject, he would leave her be about it. "All right, fair enough." Knives silently wondered to himself why he let her off telling him like that. Why did he not want to push her?

"Well, I live in a kind of big house with my mommy and daddy though they aren't my real mommy and daddy. I was adopted one year ago. Someone found me wandering around outside a Plant bulb and couldn't find my parents so they took me to the orphanage."

"So the humans you live with right now aren't your true parents?"

"Hai, I don't know my true parents," she looked sadly at him and then asked, "Did you know yours?"

"I do not believe I had any."

"What?" Yume looked confused, "How can you not be sure? Everyone has parents! Silly Knives-sama!"

"I am a Plant, a superior being."

"Plants, like in the bulbs?"

Knives ground his teeth together at the mention of his enslaved brethren, "Yes."

"Heh, maybe because I was found outside a bulb and my parents couldn't be found, maybe I'm a Plant!" she grinned weakly.

Knives lifted an eyebrow and thought about it. Actually, it was plausible. A Plant could have given birth in a bulb and released its child outside. It could happen. And the girl did have telepathic abilities, a characteristic of Plant heritage. But what were the chances? Knives chided himself not to sidetrack his mind with idle fancies like that. Night was the time for serious thinking. "Do you have any siblings?" he asked the young girl.

"Well, mommy is pregnant, but she's been pregnant also two times before, and both times the baby died inside of her. So I don't think I'm going to have a little brother or sister…"

Vash approached the two, holding a nearly empty bag of donuts. "Hey Yume! Want a donut?"

"Really?" Yume's eyes lit up and she bounced up, "Yay for donuts!"

"Corrupting the human youth?" Knives asked his brother with disgust as the girl reached into the bag and pulled out one of the last sticky, sweet treats.

"There's nothing wrong with eating!" Vash laughed, "Besides, humans need to eat to survive."

Yume smiled up at Vash broadly. "Thank you, Donut-san."

"You're welco-wait a minute! Donut-san? I thought I was 'Person-san?'" Vash scratched his head, confused.

Yume just smiled up at the Plant and then began to eat her donut. After a moment, Vash smiled back at the girl and patted her on the head. "I like Donut-san more. Thanks." He walked off.

"Why do you insist on calling others by names you give them?" Knives inquired of the girl.

"Life's more fun that way!" she grinned back at him, giving him a good glimpse of the donut filling her mouth.

Knives shuddered. "Never, ever, _ever_ do that again."

"Do what?" she asked, after swallowing her food.

"Speak with your mouth full. Eating is disgusting enough without you having to show me the digestive process."

"Oh, sorry, Knives-sama!"

"Just don't do it again."

"Okay…" the two lapsed into silence. Yume sat at the table and played with a pencil, lazily doodling across a small piece of paper. Knives sat in his chair, watching the girl. She was one of the oddest beings he had come across and, no matter how much he tried; he could not understand the way she thought. He would have her completely figured out one moment, then the next thing she did would astound him and he would have rethink his views of her.

They must have sat that way for longer than Knives had thought, for soon Vash walked up with two children latched onto his legs, tangling them up in his long, red coat. "But Vash-san, sir! We don't want you go home!" the one on his right leg whined.

"Yeah! Just a couple more games of checkers! Please?" the other begged.

Vash tried to pry the children off but to no avail. "No, I have to go! I'm sorry!"

"We won't let you leave!" the girl attached to the right leg announced.

"Yeah! You aren't gonna leave while we're on your legs!" the left leg boy grinned triumphantly.

"Spider scum, let my brother be. Now!" Knives barked, giving the children a glare that if looks were physical forces, it would have slammed them through the wall and sent them flying off the planet, into the darkness of space.

The two children's faces paled and they clung to Vash's trench coat in fear, hiding their faces in its ample coverage. Vash turned a small glare on his brother and then talked to the children, "I don't think you want to try to prevent me from leaving. You'll have to deal with him."

"Well… you'll be here tomorrow, right?" the little girl asked letting go of his leg after wiping her snot on his coat as the boy did the same. _What is with the human children and wiping their bodily fluids on others?_ Knives thought to himself.

"Yes, I will. We'll play checkers then, okay?" Vash answered.

"Awh… okay… c'mon Yuki." The girl grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him off.

Vash turned angrily to his brother. "Will you please stop scaring the children?"

"Why do you care so much about spiders such as they?"

"Knives, we've been over this time and time again! Please, not now! I'm going to get a headache…" Vash put his hands on the wheelchair's handles.

"We are leaving?"

"Yes, we are. I'm ready to go when you are."

Knives looked at the little girl who was looking up at him. "I shall return here tomorrow. You will not be absent then?"

"I'll try not to be."

"If you are not here, I will be most displeased." Knives frowned.

"I can't promise, but I will try."

"That is better than nothing, I guess. Until then, farewell."

Yume climbed up into Knives' lap and gave him a hug. "Bye, Knives-sama." She quickly climbed down and Vash pushed the 'paralyzed' Knives out of the daycare.

Knives lay awake in his bed that night, thinking. Was the child a Plant? Many things pointed to such a conclusion and some did not. She was telepathic and the vast majority of humans had no such abilities. She was young but very intelligent for her youthful appearance. The humans she lived with were not her true parents and she had been found alone, outside of a bulb.

Yet, if she was a Plant, she showed no knowledge of her superiority to the humans. _But,_ Knives thought, _neither does my brother._ He also had no proof of any exaggerated growth rate that would signify Plant heritage._ Something is telling me though, something is telling me she is no mere spider…_

Knives searched through his mind, scouring it for that thing he knew lay inside. The thing that screamed at him, she was not a human. His search seemed to be in vain though. Nothing he could come up with justified his feelings that she was a Plant.

Then, a shudder ran through his mind and body. _His feelings…_ Of course! How he felt for the child! No mere human could make him feel that unknown feeling that coursed through his veins every time he looked at the girl. It was not love. Far from it. It was closer to… kinship. She had to be a Plant. He could not feel that for a human.

Knives smiled softly to himself and he stretched out on the bed, completely relaxing every muscle in his body as he let his mind drift off to sleep. Tomorrow he would begin to teach her the inferiority of humans. He would not let her turn out like Vash had. No. She would follow in his footsteps and together, they would conquer the world and completely annihilate Mankind, destroying along with it all traces that it had ever been on the desert planet. Then, they would live out their lives in peace, with his brother and the liberated Plants.

That night, Knives' dreams were filled with the screams of humans as they died and the joy-filled faces of Plants as he destroyed their bulbs and released them from their life-long prisons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Greetings. I hope you all have had a good week. ^_^ I have. My birthday was on Friday the 13th, for those of you who did not know.

Yume: Friday the 13th? O.O Isn't that supposed to be bad?

Jeril: No, no. Friday the 13th's are my lucky days! ^_^ I had a lot of fun. Yuppers!

Yume: Is there any birthday cake? *grins innocently*

Jeril: Yup! Help me hand it out to the reviewers, would you? *cuts up the cake and puts begins to put the pieces on plates*

Yume: All right! Yay for birthday cake! *grabs a few plates and skips off to give them to reviewers*

Jeril: *speaks as she's cutting cake* Also, I renovated my web site and if you go to the section where you can view all the stories and their summaries and such, look under the Trigun section and you will find this one. Underneath it is a link to some art I did for this fanfic. Check it out! _ Sorry it's so big though. I couldn't draw it any smaller.

*gasps* Is Yume a Plant? Has what Knives discovered true? Yume! Is it?

Yume: I ain't spoiling nothing! ;p *laughs evilly*


	9. The Revelations of a Spider

Yume greeted Knives with a large grin as he was pushed up to her table by his twin brother. "Hey, Knives-sama!" the little girl called out in a cheerful voice.

The Plant waited until his brother was out of earshot before he spoke to the girl. "Greetings."

"How has your morning been, Knives-sama? Did you sleep well?" Yume inquired.

"Ah," Knives blinked, "the answer to both questions is 'good,' I suppose."

"That's good!" She grinned again.

"How was your sleep?" Knives returned the question.

Her face fell a bit. "Oh, it was… all right."

"'All right?'" Knives studied the child's face. She was still hiding something from him but he had no idea of what it could possibly be.

"I… had a few bad dreams…" Yume rubbed her forearms where goose bumps had sprung up.

"How bad are these bad dreams?" Knives was a little concerned for the child. He recalled from his childhood a few, quite nasty, nightmares that had scared him well for many weeks.

She shrugged and looked away, still rubbing at the goose bumps to make them smooth out. "Bad enough to make them bad."

Knives' eyes narrowed and he glared slightly at the girl. "Do not play words games with me, girl."

"They're scary…" She stared at the table in front of her so she would not have to look in his eyes.

Knives recalled from his childhood when Vash and he would talk about their nightmares. It seemed to help. "Tell me about them. It can help, sometimes, to talk about the things you are afraid of."

"I keep having one of them, sometimes two or three times a night. It's been in my head for a week now… it's just one little scene that plays over and over again… it's my mommy dying… she's bleeding from all these cuts and gashes and she's crying and tearing at her hair. I'm standing a few feet away, but I can't go near her, if I do…

She shook her head and continued on, "You're in another one of them… I've had it twice now…" she chewed on her lip as she picked up a crayon and began doodling on a piece of paper, "and you get captured by these big, mean men… and they put you in a bulb… and you can't get out and you just stand inside of it, pounding on the glass, trying to call for help but sound can't travel through the glass and mind messages either. No one knows where you are. No help comes. You're completely trapped. Forever…" She would not look up to meet his eyes as she drew on the paper the nightmares that plagued her young mind.

Knives nodded slightly to himself as he absorbed the descriptions of her nightmares. Even a dream like the second one would disturb him. He had actually had a similar one once when he was younger. The only difference was Vash was the one trapped inside and Knives could not break the glass and release his brother no matter how hard he tried.

The platinum blond breathed deeply and thought for a moment. He wanted to reach out and comfort the girl, strange as the feeling was to him. In his long life, he had only comforted one person, Vash, and that was after Steve had beaten the Plant. Knives grimaced to himself. Steve. How he had hated that human. He had deserved a fate far worse than the one that had befallen him. If Steve were alive right now… Knives flexed his hands and balled them into fists. If only Steve was alive and in the Plant's clutches…

_Knives-sama? _The mental voice intruded into the solitude created by half-buried memories resurfacing.

"Yes?" Knives looked at the girl. She had her head cocked to one side and was eyeing him with an odd look. "What is it?"

"That was weird. I said your name out loud four times but you couldn't hear me so I had to call you with my mind," she replied.

"Sometimes people can get quite wrapped up in what they are thinking about."

"Oh. It must have been important. Sorry." She shrunk down in her chair a little.

Knives suddenly remembered that he had wished to start tutoring the girl Plant child in his way of thinking. "So, girl. What do you think of humans?"

She looked confused and looked at him with her brow furrowed as she tried to understand what he was talking about. "They're nice, I guess. What am I supposed to think about them?"

"Humans are inferior to us. They are dirt beneath our feet."

"What?" Yume scooted her chair closer to Knives and looked up at him, her face rapt with attention.

Knives began patiently explaining to the young child the way the Universe worked. "Humans are spiders, we Plants are butterflies. The spiders are imperfect, flawed, and inferior. The spiders must be destroyed so that we, the butterflies, can live in peace. At this point in time, we have to live in permanent fear of imprisonment in a bulb where our life energy will be slowly leeched away so the humans can run their damned machines."

Unknown to his brother, Vash had slowly been creeping his way across the room, table by table, so he could be within listening distance of his brother and the girl. He dearly wanted to know what they spoke about, how Knives could talk so openly with her and yet always close up to Vash, his own twin.

Vash nearly choked on a cookie he was eating when he heard what Knives was telling Yume. He was brainwashing the child! The boy who gave him the snack looked at him worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just inhaled some of it, that's all," Vash smiled back to the boy.

The boy nodded, "Okay."

Vash cocked his head so he could better hear what Knives and Yume were saying.

"So the Plants are trapped in the bulbs?"

"Yes, because of the humans."

"This makes humans evil?" Yume kept her eyes fixated on Knives as she reached under the table to withdraw her lunchbox.

"Yes, because the Plants are dying as their life energy is taken from them and thus, it is like a slow poison or a cancer. Theirs is a slow, painful death with no one nearby who evens cares that they are dying. Until their last dying moment, their only company is the human engineers who are only worried about the bulb functioning properly. This is why we need to unite and destroy all of the humans! We need to gather! My brother, you, me and any other free-walking Plant that we might find! Our combined forces channeled into one large assault will be able to eradicate the humans from this planet in less than a week!" Knives eyes almost literally glowed with the fanatic passion that radiated forth from him as he spoke of the destruction of Mankind.

"Wow…" Yume set the lunchbox on the table and stared at it. She looked up at Knives, "Can I have a little time alone? To think all this over?" Knives nodded and Yume stood, picking up her lunchbox and retreating to a little-used table in a corner.

Vash made sure Knives had not seen him, and then he walked over to the table where Yume was sitting with her lunch. She was eating a sandwich as she separated some small candies into two piles. "Yume…" Vash did not know how she would react to the question he was about to ask. Maybe she would brush it off as many her age would. On the other hand, maybe she would understand and reply as an adult would. Well, some adults. He just had to know so he asked her anyway,

"How can you stand talking to Knives? He always talks about being superior and killing all humans. How can you listen to that and not be disturbed by it?" he slowly seated himself in one of the small, children's chairs next to her.

Yume seemed to ignore his question as she picked up one of the small chunks from one of the two piles. She held up the small lump that fit in the palm of her hand. "See this candy, Donut-san?"

Vash was slightly perturbed that she had just disregarded what he had asked but he decided to play along with her anyway. "Yes, I see it."

She reached for his hand and turned it so the palm was facing up. She then deposited the small lump in his hand. "Well, does it look good to you?"

Vash studied the candy. It was covered by brown, white, cream, gray and black swirls and was roughly sphere-shaped. It did not look very appetizing. "No."

"I want you to eat it."

"But I'm not hungry…"

"Please, Donut-san? For me?" She gave him her best pair of puppy eyes.

"All right." Vash steeled himself and tossed the morsel into his mouth. He bit down on it and, as he had expected, his taste buds encountered a sour, sick flavor.

"And?"

"It's not that good."

"Yeah, that's an understatement." She picked up another, but this time it came from the other pile. "Now try this one."

Vash grimaced. "I'd rather not."

"Please? I'm trying to show you something, Donut-san! Trust me."

"Fine," Vash grumbled and took the candy. He braced himself once more and popped the little orb into his waiting but this time as his teeth broke the outer shell, his mouth was flooded with a sweet, pleasant taste. Vash's brow furrowed and he swallowed the delectable treat. He gave the young girl a suspicious look as she smiled innocently back.

"Was it good?" she asked.

"Yes…" Vash stared at the two piles of candies. They were identical. How could she tell which was good and which was bad?

"My mommy makes these herself. A long time ago, she came up with the recipe but she never wrote it down 'cause she has good memory. But now, she's getting older and other stuff has happened so she's forgotten most of it. So, whenever she makes these candies, she messes up some of them, but others come out good. She just gives them all to me, knowing I'll figure it out. I can tell between the two. There's a few little differences I see in them," she explained.

"What has this to do with the question I asked you?"

"I'm getting to that! Now, people are like these candies. They all look pretty much the same on the outside, but everyone has their own swirls of color and such. When you meet a new person, you don't know what they will really be like on the inside, just like this candy. You have to get to know them to truly understand how they think and their true feelings.

"When you first knew Knives-sama, he was like the first candy. Inside, he was sick and nasty, wanting to kill all humans because he believed it was best for you and him. Now he's changed. He's slowly turning into the second candy, although his outside shell is the same. He may still speak and act like he did before, but underneath it all, he's changed."

Her little chocolate brown eyes were grave and serious as she stared into his brilliant green ones. "But you've closed your eyes, Donut-san. You know him as the way he first was and you won't accept any change that he might have. You wanted him to, but now you can't accept it because he disappointed you before. It's you who needs to change now. It's all up to you."

"No… that's not true…" Vash whispered, looking at the child with wide eyes. Could it be true? Could his brother have changed? Did he not notice it? Was he truly blocking his brother out, subconsciously refusing to accept any changes he might have? No! It could not be true! He wanted Knives to change more than anyone else did! He watched his brother every minute of the day, hoping for some noticeable change. But… she had said his outer self had not changed, just his inner feelings.

No! That was not right! She was just a child, a human child! Knives was _his_ twin! His! Vash knew his brother inside and out! No mere child who had met his brother just days ago could know his brother better than he did! It was not true! It could never be true!

Vash stood and stalked off as he felt the child's solemn gaze boring a hole right through his back and into his very soul, listening in on the raging and warring thoughts that stampeded through his mind. She lied! She did not know what she was speaking of! She was just a stupid girl! A human like her-

Vash stopped and leaned against a nearby wall. Was he beginning to turn into his brother? Blaming people's faults on their human genes? _Rem! What's happening? I'm so confused… help me…_ Vash silently cried into the chaotic mess of his own mind.

Something tickled Vash's thoughts and made him rethink the conversation he had heard pass between Knives and Yume. One phrase came back to echo clearly in his mind: "My brother, you, me and any other free-walking Plant that we might find!"

"Oh no…" Vash sagged against the wall. Did Knives truly think that the child was a Plant? There was no solid proof. What had made him even think of that in the first place? Maybe… maybe he believed he could only have feelings for a member of his own species and so he had deluded himself into thinking she was a Plant.

Vash stood and strode over to Knives. Well, whatever the cause, these daycare trips had turned out to be quite the opposite of what Vash had wanted to accomplish. Instead of the option of learning to like, or even tolerate, humans, his brother had chosen delusion.

"Knives, we are leaving," Vash said curtly, grabbing the handles of his brother's wheelchair and briskly pushing him out the door. "These daycare visits are over. They are obviously a waste of your precious time as nothing productive is happening."

"Bu-" Knives started and then stopped himself. He did not want his brother to see he wanted to stay. Knives wished to stay behind and teach the girl more. He wanted to learn to be able to comfort her when she was frightened by nightmares. He wanted her be able to trust him so much that she would tell him the secret that she hid. He could pry it out of her mind with his mental powers, yes, but that would not be the same as if she offered it to him of her own free will.

When that happened, Knives knew that it would mean his old self was forever buried behind him. He would never be able to change back. He knew that thought should disturb him as he had not changed in many decades yet… he almost could not wait until that day occurred.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Greetings, all you lovely reviewers! I hope you all have had a good week. I know I have. I was so happy and inspired I wrote an extra long chapter for you all! I've been baby-sitting from Monday to Thursday, 10 am – 4 pm. Lucky for me, the kids are pretty self-sufficient so all I really have to do is feed them. ^0^ And I get money! Yay! I'm going to buy so much anime… *drools*

Ah, I have been practicing writing from Legato's point of view about Knives and the human race. I posted up the result as a one-shot fanfic, Anokata. It takes place in the beginning of Episode 24, in the morning. If any of you are really big Legato fans, please read it and tell me how I did. I'm dying to know if Legato was OOC. I already had a couple people read it and they said I did well on my portrayal of him and his obsession with Knives. I need feedback! Please? *puppy eyes*

Yume: Legato? I don't know any Legatos… Is he a nice person?

Jeril: Ah… maybe… ^_^;; Depends on how much you are willing to tolerate his obsession for Knives.

Yume: He thinks Knives-sama is awesome too? Wow! We're going to get along so well! I need to meet this Legato man! *bounces around happily*

Jeril: o.o;; Why do I have the very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that she isn't going to survive an encounter with Legato? Yume! Wait! *hands Yume a brown paper bag filled with something* It's best to go into battle prepared.

Yume: What's this? *peeks inside* Hotdogs?

Jeril: The easiest way to Legato's heart is through his stomach, by way of hotdog! ^_^;;

Yume: *wrinkles her nose* Hotdogs are yucky…

Jeril: I've said it before and I'll say it again; Yume, child, you are one odd little basket of fruit.

Yume: I like fruit! ^0^ Fruit is good and healthy! *bounces off carrying a basket of fruit to hand out to the reviewers*

Jeril: Anyway, sorry about that last bit with Vash. Poor man just can't face the fact he has been blind… *sighs* Now, I have to break some news to you all. If you are under the impression this is going to continue to be a light-hearted fic, you're wrong. It's going to get a bit angsty and worthy of the rating "PG-13". Yes, there will be more humorous scenes and words but that is because of dear little Yume, and yet even that precious child is holding inside of her a secret that is not quite as innocent as she is. So, if you don't like serious stuff and good old angst, this fanfic is not going to be the one for you much longer.


	10. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

**O Brother, Where Art Thou?**

The golden-haired blond Plant blinked blearily at the shaft of sunlight that had crept in through his window and was shining over his bed, warming his body beneath the blankets. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and yawned mightily. Vash the Stampede leaned back against the wall his bed was placed by as he recalled his decision from the day before. The Plant rubbed sleep from his eyes as he pondered what he and his brother would be doing today. They would probably end up amusing themselves with nothing but playing cards and reading books now that they would not be returning to the daycare.

"Maybe I acted just a little hastily," he murmured to himself, thinking over the events of the previous day. If Knives truly was changing, it had to be mostly because of the little girl there, if not completely. Vash sighed and put his head in his hands. He had acted so irrationally after she had told him what he was blind of.

Vash slid off the bed and onto his feet. He stood and looked at a small mirror that was hanging on the wall and just the right height so that it reflected his face in it. He picked up a comb from the small table by the side of his bed and began to run it through his sleep-mussed hair as he said to his reflection, "Well, it's not too late to fix some things."

The Plant then dressed in a fresh shirt and pair of pants and exited his room. He passed through the kitchen where Milly was making breakfast. Vash paused to sniff the air and then he grinned, "Where's the donuts?"

Milly smiled back, "I knew you'd be able to smell them, Vash-san." She opened a cupboard, pulled out a box and handed it to Vash. "Only have one or two though so that you don't spoil your appetite for breakfast!"

"Yup!" Vash began munching on the heavenly treats as he stuck his head in the dining room, "Hey Mer-" He had been expecting to see Meryl hard at work on the dining room table, sorting through large piles of paper and jotting down notes and memos on a pad of paper, but instead the table was empty. It had been cleared of any evidence she had ever been there except for a blue pen that lay, looking lost and neglected, by where she usually sat. Vash turned back to Milly. "Where's Meryl?"

"Oh, she had to go into work early today." Milly answered. "She got a call from the boss. He said there was a new, really big case that just came in and he wanted her to take it, that she had the best experience for the type."

"Ah, okay," Vash picked another donut out of the box and then put the cardboard container back in the cupboard, "Breakfast will be ready soon?"

Milly nodded, "You going to go get Knives-san?"

"Yup." Vash turned and went back down the hall that was the entry and exit to all of the bedrooms of the small house. He stopped outside the door to Knives' room and knocked. "Knives? You awake?"

There was no answer.

_He must still be asleep, _Vash thought to himself, not taking into account the fact that Knives _never_ slept in. Vash knocked once more, for the sake of manners, and then opened the door. "Knives, get u-" Vash started and then cut himself off. He stared in shock at the empty room, his brother's wheelchair sitting in the center of it - unoccupied. Vash did a quick check through the room and noted what little possessions his brother had, were gone. The Plant turned around and strode out of the room and down the hallway. "Milly! Has Knives gone anywhere?"

"No, Vash-san. Why?" Milly answered, cocking her head to one side as Vash entered the kitchen.

"He's left the house. He didn't need the wheelchair after all. He was just using it as a cover up so we wouldn't know he was plotting anything. Damn him!" Vash growled. He turned to stare out of a kitchen window as Milly put a comforting hand on his back.

"Where did you go Knives?" Vash whispered to the blue sky and the two brilliant white suns that shone outside.

Vash ate the breakfast in silence with Milly, although he could no longer taste the food that he put into his mouth. His mind was too preoccupied with the thought of his brother. Where did he go? Was he right now plotting the death of more innocents? How had he escaped?

Vash mentally scolded himself. When he thought of Knives leaving in terms of an "escape," it made it sound like Knives had been held at the house against his will. Yet in a way, he had been. Vash had never asked him if he wanted to leave or barely given his brother a choice in anything. The house had been a prison for him in a way. No wonder he had wanted to leave.

"Oh, Yume's going to miss him," Vash muttered to himself through a mouthful of toast.

"What?" Milly looked up from where she had been idly picking at her plate.

"Nothing." Vash stood up and took his dirty dishes into the kitchen. He put them in the sink and then walked back to the table. "I need to go out for a couple hours. Will you be okay here?"

The woman looked a little dejected but she managed a smile and a nod. "Yeah, I'm going to stay here for a bit longer and then go help Meryl with her paperwork." Vash smiled back at her and then left the house to head off to the daycare.

Milly sat at the table and watched him go out the front door. She heaved a sigh and stared at the food on her plate. The food she had cooked no longer interested her. She picked up the plate and walked into the kitchen to put the dishes away and scrape the scraps into the garbage.

Milly felt depressed. She had been hoping to get Knives to talk to her and be her friend, and now he was gone. Her eyes wandered around the kitchen and settled on the cupboard where Vash's donuts were stashed. She looked around her carefully to see if anyone was watching although she was alone in the house. She opened the cupboard door and reached in past the donut box, feeling around for something that she knew was hidden inside.

Finally, her fingers encountered a small container and the woman smiled triumphantly. She pulled out the tub and grabbed a spoon. "Pudding!" she smiled happily to herself and dug in.

"Hey, I need the home address of a girl who goes here. She's not here today. Her name is Yume." Vash said to the elderly daycare employee.

"I can't give you that information. I'm sorry, sir," she replied, giving him a disapproving look that said to him, 'I can't believe you even asked for it.'

"Can I please have the child's address?" Vash asked, trying to look as pitiful as he could, "My brother ran away last night and I think he might have told her where he went to."

"Isn't your brother a little old to be running away?" the old woman asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Ma'am, I just found out my brother could run this morning, let alone run away." Vash smiled sadly.

"Hey," a boy Vash recognized as Yume's friend tugged on the skirt of the old woman, "my mom wanted me to go home early today. I have to go see the doctor." He handed her a note.

She scanned it over quickly and then nodded. "Okay, you can leave Kole." She turned back to Vash, "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't give out that information. It's confidential. You understand, right?"

Vash sighed, "Yes. I understand." He turned away and began to walk dejectedly out of the daycare.

The boy hurried after him and grabbed his sleeve. "You want to talk to Yume?"

"Yeah, do you know where she lives?" Vash asked, brightening up.

"Yeah, I followed her home one day to find out. She never let me come over to her house for some reason even though she came over to my house all the time," Kole answered.

"She lives close by you?"

Kole nodded, "Just a couple blocks down the road. C'mon, I'll take you there." He grabbed Vash's hand and led him out the door.

As they walked through the town on the way to the girl's home, Vash saw that they were passing Meryl's office. He touched the boy lightly on the shoulder and when the child looked up at him, the Plant gestured towards the building. "I need to go in here for a minute."

"Okay, can I come?" the boy looked around the town nervously. He obviously did not want to be left alone outside.

Vash smiled at the boy. "Sure. Follow me." The two males walked into the building and they strode up to the receptionist's desk. "Hey, do you know where the office of Meryl Strife is?" Vash asked the lady.

The thin, harsh-looking woman popped her gum aggressively at the blond Plant in much the same way that a teenager does to a teacher or parent. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I'm her friend," Vash answered.

"Your name?" the lady snapped.

"Oh, I'm Vash. Vash the Stampede. You might have heard of me." He shrugged.

The woman's eyes bulged out of her head and she stared at the legendary gunman. "V-V-Vash the Stampede? Uh, d-down the hall to your, to your left. Right side, third d-door down."

"Thank you!" Vash grinned at her. "And always remember! This world is made of love and peace!" He flashed his love and peace hand sign at her and then disappeared down the hallway with Kole right behind him, leaving the shocked receptionist behind.

Vash knocked on a door that read 'Meryl Strife.' "Come in!" a strained voice called from inside. Vash opened the door and he and the boy, Kole, entered. Meryl sat at her desk that was stacked high with papers and called out, "Hey, Rick. Please get me a cup of coffee. No, wait. Just bring me the whole p-" she stopped speaking as she looked up. "Oh, hey Vash. What are you doing here? And who's the kid?"

"Oh, I was just passing by your office so I decided to stop by and see how you were doing," he answered.

"Ah, and the boy?"

"Oh, he's just a friend. He's showing me where a girl lives so I can talk to her."

Meryl rolled her eyes. "Oh, I see."

Vash waved his hands in front of him. "No, no, no! Not like that! Not anything like _that_! She's only five! I think…" he added to himself.

"Sure she is…"

Vash decided to switch topics, seeing as how she was not taking too kindly to the current one, "So, what's this new case about?"

"Oh," Meryl glared at the piles of paperwork covering her desk, "a house was broken into last night, one of the family members was killed yet nothing was stolen. I'm trying to figure out if they had any insurance for this kind of thing. I'm having to go over all these records," she gestured at the piles and then rubbed her temples, "and then I have to go to their home and inspect the damage and such." She looked exhausted.

"Whoa, that's a lot of work. Makes me glad I don't have a job!" Vash started to laugh but it quickly ended with a strangled sound as Meryl glared at him balefully.

"If you don't have anything _helpful_ left to say, I suggest you leave as I need to work."

"Okay. Good luck, Meryl." He quickly exited the room with Kole close on his heels.

The two males walked out of the building and continued their way down the street. "She's a real bitch, huh?" the boy piped up.

"Yeah, she can b-Wait! You're too young to be using that kind of language!" Vash turned a hot look on the boy.

"Is that a bad word?" Kole asked innocently, "I heard a guy yell it at a girl yesterday."

"Don't use that word again, okay?"

"Okay." They walked on in silence.

After ten minutes, Vash had to ask, "Are we there yet?"

The boy coughed into his hand for a few moments before he answered. "Just two more houses down." He pointed. "It's a white house with a sandbox in the front. You can't miss it."

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I have to go see the doctor."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Kole turned around and started jogging down the sidewalk. After a few seconds of that though, he had to stop and wheeze for a moment, coughing occasionally. Vash watched the boy recover and then continued away at a brisk pace, struggling for air.

"I hope that boy is all right…" Vash murmured to himself and then turned to walk towards the house that he had pointed out.

He reached the house in question and stopped to stare. There were people walking around it and through it, taking notes, chatting quietly, pointing out things to others and other things. A man walked up to Vash, "Need any help, sir?"

"What happened here?"

"Last night-" he began but was cut off by a woman striding up.

"Vash!" Meryl growled. "What are you doing here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Greetings to all my wonderful readers who I love and appreciate. ^_^ If it wasn't for all of you, I would probably have given up on, or gotten bored with, this story a few chapters ago.

Yume: *sniffles* You would've left me? Abandoned me to the deep, dark corners of your mind with all your other half-finished projects?

Jeril: Yeah, I'm sorry. ;-; It happens to me a lot. Look at all my paused stories on my profile. Anyway, **I have a couple very, very important things to say in this author's note.** So pay attention. *Yume winces* ^_^;; Sorry about the bold font, kid. I just wanted to make sure the reviewers are with me. Okay, first thing, sorry about the little bit of a cliffhanger. *dodges a tomato tossed at her* The next chapter is going to be a sort of flashback to the night before so you will know what happened with Knives. I just liked having this day first, to get you people on edge. ^_~ Hehehe. ^0^ Wasn't the chapter title perfect? I love that movie! ^_^

Secondly, I am moving as of _very, very soon._ I don't know when, or if, I'll have Internet access when we move into the hotel tonight. I will be bringing my laptop with me however, so I am sure I will get a lot of writing done. Anyway, things should be back to normal by the beginning of Aug- *screams of rage are heard and Jeril is pelted by a rain of tomatoes, apples, oranges and other fruits (some rotten, some ripe)* Yume! Now would be a good time to _stop_ handing out fruit, you little demon child!

Yume: Awh, but the reviewers and me are having so much fun! *throws a strawberry at Jeril*

Jeril: Anyone throw one more piece of fruit at me and I will not write the next chapter! *silence reigns*

Yume: *hits Jeril with an apple* We all know you couldn't bear to stop writing now!! *giggles as the hail of fruit begins again*

Jeril: Damn you and your devilish mind, brat…


	11. And There Shall be Death to the Demons

**And There Shall be Death to the Demons**

Knives looked out the window at the star-studded night sky. How could Vash do this? It was completely unlike him. What had made his brother react in such a way? Knives ground his teeth in anger and frustration. He wanted to go back to the daycare and visit the child, annoying though she might be at some times, and get to know her more. Why had Vash canceled the trips? Knives was extremely irritated and displeased at this irrational behavior his brother had displayed.

Suddenly, Knives came to a thought that had been lurking within the deep confines of his mind, oppressed by his primary thoughts of Vash and the cancellations of the daycare trips. _Why did he even let Vash tell him what to do?_ He was not actually paralyzed so why did he stay with his brother? He could leave any time. Nothing was holding him back except for his want to be close to his brother. It was time for him to leave.

Knives slipped off the bed and onto his feet. He opened his closet and pulled out a small bag. Inside of it, he placed his spare plug suits and the few possessions he had acquired during the time he had stayed with his sibling. The Plant slowly opened the door to his room, silently praising the object for being well oiled and free of any betraying squeaks or groans. Luckily, the floor also chose to remain silent as Knives made his trip across its surface and to the front door. This one however gave a little squeal of objection as Knives began to open it, but then remained silent.

The blond-haired Plant stepped out into the road and breathed deeply of the clean, crisp night air. The stars glittered against the dark sky, resembling jewels laid against a dark cloth for display. Knives admired the clarity of the sky and reached out his mind to locate the home of the girl child from the daycare. He did not wish to leave without saying 'good-bye.' His brother had not given him the chance earlier that day.

With that thought, Knives looked back at the house where Vash and his two human women friends were sleeping. The male Plant smiled slightly to himself and said softly, "Farewell for now, brother. We shall meet again. I am sure of that."

Knives walked purposely through the streets of the town, following the mental signature of the girl's mind. He paused at the gate to the yard of her home, studying the building. It was a two-story house, the white paint was stained and the owners obviously did little to none maintenance on the building. Knives quickly mentally searched the home and found that the only being in the home was the child. She was upstairs, sleeping in what was presumably her room. The Plant walked up to the building and tried the door. Remarkably, it was open.

Knives lifted an eyebrow. Either the child's adopted parents believed the neighborhood to be safe, which, if Knives' observations were correct, it was not, or they were confident that the girl could take care of herself, which most likely she could not, or they just did not care. The Plant frowned. He did not like how these "parents" treated their child.

He stepped into the home and heard a loud hiss. He jumped slightly, startled at the sound, and stared at the black cat that was seated on a rug in front of the door. It crouched protectively; its dark hair standing up while it emitted low, primordial noises from its throat. Knives nudged the beast with his boot and it tried to scratch the appendage but found a material protecting the flesh beneath, its goal. The feline dashed away to hide under a table where it lurked in the shadows, its bright green, unblinking eyes staring at the Plant with what seemed to be a look of accusation.

Knives chose to ignore the animal and checked where the girl's room was located in the house. He walked up the stairs and they creaked beneath his feet, protesting the strain, however slight, he put on them. The door to the girl's room was silent although the floorboards continued to groan.

Knives paused in the doorway to make sure the child was asleep and then walked into the middle of the room to look at the sleeping girl more closely. She whimpered in her sleep, rubbing at her hands, obviously in the grip of one of her nightmares. The Plant sat down in a chair in the corner of her room, watching the child.

He stayed that way for a while, only studying the little child. She was so fragile looking in her sleep, so innocent and unprotected. Knives wondered what exactly he would say to the child. How would she react? Would she cry? Knives smiled faintly. If so, he was sure to walk away with nostril fluids covering his chest.

Finally, Knives took a breath and reached out his mind, inserting himself into the child's mind as he had done the night before. This time, however, he actually brought himself fully into the child's nightmare. He could see her and see the images her imagination had conjured up.

In the child's nightmare, everything was stained a bloody red color and the girl was trapped in a small, metal cage, the prisoner of giant monsters. They towered above the child, dancing around her cage in a wild, hungry frenzy. Yume was curled in a ball, sobbing in terror, believing herself to be doomed.

Knives grinned to himself. It was but a dream. Anything could be done in a dream. He looked in his right hand and saw he gripped his familiar black gun. His grin widened and he strode forward toward the dream demons. Yes, anything was possible in a dream.

As the monsters towered above the child, so he towered above them. Their knees quaked in fear as he glared down at them. With a few shots from his gun, he dispatched the beasts and then blasted the lock off the girl's cage. She looked up quickly, the gunshots having startled her out of her shocked, fear-induced state. Her face lit up like the light of a rising sun when she saw her savior. "Knives-sama," she whispered, "is that really you?"

He nodded. "You want to get out of here?" he extended his gun-less hand to the child. She smiled shyly up at him and took his hand. Knives pulled her out of the cage and helped her to her feet.

Suddenly, the girl screamed and pointed wildly behind the Plant. "Knives-sama! Behind you!" Knives whirled around only to come face-to-face with a giant snake. He blinked as the beast hissed at him, showing its poison dripping, pearly white fangs.

"Child, you surely have an active imagination," Knives muttered as he snapped off a few shots at the giant serpent, keeping the girl behind him. The gray-colored snake took the bullets with no apparent reaction as it dove toward him, its jaws salivating. Knives growled in irritation as he picked the girl up and dove out of the way of the immense reptile. The Plant retreated to a distance away from the threat and quickly thought of a way to destroy the monster through taking advantage of the fact they were in a dream that could be manipulated. He pulled the remaining bullets out of his gun and replaced them with a few 'special' bullets that he picked up off the ground from where they had happened to be laying.

Knives took aim at the behemoth and snarled angrily, "Eat this, filthy beast!" as he shot into its gargantuan mouth. The snake swallowed the bullets and its face took on a shocked expression as it blinked in a comical way. Knives smirked, quite pleased, as its head exploded and sprayed he and girl with blood.

Yume looked down at her clothes and wrinkled her nose. "Ew," she stated simply. Knives decided to have a little fun and waved his hand theatrically, making the dream-blood disappear. The girl's eyes widened. "Wow, Knives-sama! That was so spiffy! Do it again, do it again!" She jumped up and down, excitement leaking from every pore on her little body.

Knives blinked and looked at the girl blankly. "There is no more blood though…"

Yume paused and returned Knives' blank look. "Oh, true…"

They stared at each other for a few moments before Knives remembered why he had entered her nightmare in the first place. He suddenly found his mouth dry and he swallowed, not knowing what to say. "Um…" he searched for the right words.

"What's wrong, Knives-sama?" Yume asked, cocking her head to one side, "What is it?"

"I… I am leaving," Knives said.

"On a trip? When will you be back?"

"I do not believe I will ever return."

The girl's face was frozen for a few minutes, devoid of any expression. Then she dissolved into a mass of quivering flesh as tears fell down her face. "B-but Knives-sama! We're supposed to have fun at daycare! We have to read books together and draw pictures and talk and, and, and stuff… You can't go!" the child wailed.

"I have to leave," Knives said in an apologetic tone, "I have to."

"But I don't want you to go," the child whined, wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeve.

"I have to go."

"But-"

"Stop complaining. There's nothing I can do about it," Knives snapped, growing weary of her childish whines. Although they were completely natural for her, as she was only a mere five years of age, he found them decidedly unappealing and was not hesitant to speak his mind.

"O-okay." She quickly dried off any remaining tears and was still visibly upset, however she ceased fussing. They lapsed into silence once more. Knives tapped his foot, wishing for anything to break the annoying emptiness but having nothing with which to do so.

Suddenly, the child's eyes lit up with energy and she blurted out, "Can I come with you?" Her voice was filled with hope and barely concealed excitement.

Knives blinked again. He had not been prepared for this question. "Um… no."

"Why not?" she asked the Plant. The girl was one not to be turned away from her goal.

"Because," Knives fumbled for an excuse, "you have a family here! You cannot leave them."

"But I want to go with you, Knives-sama! I can always come back and visit them! Let me come with you! Please?" her eyes were wide and begging.

"You are not allowed to come. That is the final time I will say so."

"Why else can't I?"

"Because… because you can-"

"I can, I can!" she danced around Knives in a joyous circle, chanting the two words over and over again. Flowers began springing up from the ground, brought into existence by her good mood.

"But-" but it was too late. The girl already had her heart set on the matter. Knives hung his head in defeat. There was nothing he could do now except take her along with him, he realized as he watched a tree grow from the ground and a flock of birds fly out from its leaf-covered branches. "I am going to go for now. I shall return shortly to take you with me."

"Okay! Bye-bye until then!" Yume gave him a quick hug and then waved farewell as he disappeared from the nightmare-turned-dream.

Knives stood up from the chair where he had been sitting the entire time and looked down at the girl. "And take you with me, I shall." Knives reached down to pick up the sleeping child but, as he did so, she let out a small whimper of pain. The back of her shirt slipped up and he saw dark marks covering her back. Carefully, he lay down the girl stomach down in the moonlight so he could study the marks. As a test, Knives gently pushed down on one and the girl let out another small cry. There was no doubt about it. The marks were bruises.

Knives felt the fury beginning to build within him. Who had done this to the child? Knives gently pried into the child's mind with his strong mental fingers, searching for the answer. He quickly found it and was disgusted. The perpetrator was her human male parental figure. Her "father." How could he do that to his adopted child? How _dare_ he touch her, a superior being, violently? How dare he touch her at all? Knives clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth.

That male would pay… and he would pay dearly.

Knives quickly mentally scanned the downstairs and was quite pleased when he located the human scum was residing there along with his mate. The Plant quickly strode down the stairs and walked into the living room where the two beings were located. The male was standing over his unconscious mate and he was gesturing angrily and threateningly at the woman. He heard Knives' approaching footsteps however and he turned. He looked shocked and then angry at the Plant's obvious intrusion into his home. "Who the hell are you?" the man snarled, rage dripping into his voice.

Knives saw fit not to answer and instead bore straight into the man, grabbing him by the face and slamming him into the wall. He kneed the man violently in his most sensitive area and smirked as the human bent over double in pain. "Who are you, you bastard?" the man spat out venomously.

"I am here to teach you the pain of living, pathetic human scum. This pain that is the very center of your essence." Knives accentuated his words by punching the man in the ribs, hard enough that an audible _crack_ was heard. The man grunted and coughed up blood. "How does it feel, human? How does it feel to be alive?"

"Go to hell," the human hissed, trying to hit his captor. Knives easily blocked the clumsy punches and he let go of the human's face. The man dropped to his knees and hunched over, weak from pain. The Plant picked up a nearby chair and broke it over the man's head. He then picked up the human by the throat and Knives brought him up so he could stare into his eyes. Blood dribbled from the man's lips and onto Knives' hands.

The Plant looked at the human in disgust but then chuckled to himself. "I think that is going to be your destination, not mine." Panic flooded the man's face as Knives crushed the human's windpipe with his strong hand.

The corpse slumped to the ground as the Plant released his grip. Knives wiped the blood off his hands on the dead man's shirt and stepped over the corpse. He calmly walked back up the stairs to pick up the girl and take her with him, far away from the place of pain and terror where she had been dwelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: I apologize to you all for getting this chapter out so late. _ I have had Internet access since I arrived in my hotel room, although I only was able to have my own computer connected four days ago and this chapter gave me some trouble at many points. I don't really know how the first and last parts turned out… I hope they were okay and met your all's approval. ^_^;;

Yume: *dances around holding the DVD of _Spirited Away_* Yay, yay, yay! Haku bishie bishie!

Jeril: Nooo!! *dives for the DVD* My Haku dragon bishie! Mine! *Yume hisses at Jeril and holds the DVD protectively* Damn you, girl! Take the No Face! Not my Haku-chan!!

Yume: o.o;; Isn't he too young for you? By the way, what's this DVD rated again? *cups her ear* I can't hear you!

Jeril: *mutters* PG. I don't care though!! Haku's bishie! Did you know that the English Haku's voice is young Knives' English voice?

Yume: What?! Knives-sama's voice? O.O Knives-sama!! *runs off to watch the movie again, this time in English*

Jeril: -_- I want my movie back, little brat… Anyway, yeah… Heh, this chapter's title was kind of thought up at a whim. ^_^;; It _is_ a tad bit longer than I'd prefer but cutting it up made it sound stupid…

Garg, I'm so frustrated. Today, on a whim, I bought a manga artbook thingie to help me draw some manga peoples. Then, after a few pathetic attempts I remembered one, itsy bitsy, ever so crucial detail: I can't draw. ^_^;; Well, there goes another $21, wasted. Yay for whims… ~_~

Well, I shall exit with a Knives' quote! "Yes, the pain you feel is your very essence. The essence of the crude animal known as Homo Sapien." Heh, I have a background with the quote and a picture of Knives in episode 26 when he's holding both of his and Vash's guns and he looks psycho. Yay for Knives-sama! ^0^


	12. Trapped Within the Desert of Your Mind

**Trapped Within the Desert of Your Mind**

"Yume's missing?" Vash asked in shock as he watched a medic lean over the prostrate mother. She had been found, beaten nearly to death and they were not sure that she would make it. The kidnapper was believed to have harmed her. "And her father's dead?"

Meryl nodded grimly. "The police have no suspects so far. The girl's father was an alcoholic but he never got into fights at the bars and always paid his bills. We can think of no one who would hold a grudge against him."

"Uh, Meryl? I don't know if this is helpful or not but, well, Knives is… missing." It really was not the most opportune time that Vash could have chosen but he felt that she had to know.

Meryl gave Vash a look of incredulity. "'Missing?' How can he be missing? He's paralyzed! He can't move much, if any! Even in that wheelchair of his, how far could he get?"

"You see, Knives was tricking us with the paralyzed act. He left the wheelchair behind and is long gone." Vash's face was grave. "I think he might have been the one to do this."

"I thought you told us he was harmless! That he had 'turned over a new leaf,' as you so quaintly put it," Meryl snarled.

Vash held up his hands in a hopeless gesture of defense. "Hey! I said 'mostly harmless!'" Meryl glared at him with an expression that clearly stated: "Don't even start." Vash chuckled nervously and decided to abandon that topic. "Shall I go find him?"

"Will it as easy as your tone puts it?"

Vash smiled sadly. "I wish. If I know Knives, he will soon have a place to hide and new henchmen recruited."

"How long do you think it will take you?"

"At the least, a few months. At the most, a few years…" The blond Plant sighed. The last time he had tried to find Knives, it had taken him a small eternity and he only located his brother when he was ready to be found.

"You have any ideas of where to start?" Vash shook his head slowly. Meryl heaved a frustrate sigh. "Well, then you better get going! God only knows what havoc Knives could wreck in a few months, let alone years! He's probably out doing just that right now!"

Meryl could not have known but at that exact moment, Knives was quite incapable of wreaking havoc of any type. Having never been around any children before, he had not thought of the needs of the child he had brought along and was being bombarded by so many questions, complaints, and childish thoughts that he could barely handle it.

"Knives-sama?"

Knives looked over to the young girl who trudged along by his side through the never-ending desert that was the planet Gunsmoke. "Yes?"

"Are we there yet?"

"Does it look like we are?"

"Um, no?"

"Then we have not yet reached our destination."

"Oh." The child fell silent and the pair continued on their long journey across the hot sands.

"Knives-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Why is the sand yellow?"

Knives did not know the answer to this one and so he improvised. "Because it is."

"And the sky? Why is it blue?"

Knives did happen to know why the sky was blue and so he explained. "Blue light's short wavelength causes it to get scattered around 10 times more by oxygen and nitrogen molecules than the longer wavelengths, like red, of the other colors visible to us. The blue in the sky we see is scattered blue light." Knowledge was one of the only good things he had gotten out of the humans on board the SEEDs ship.

"There's blue light? And red light?" Yume's eyes shined as she marveled at the thought. "What's oxygen and nitrogen? And what's a wavelength?"

"I'll tell you some other day, when you have a more basic idea of science."

"Okay… Knives-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I'm thirsty." Then, after a moment of silence, she added, "And I'm hungry."

"Wait until we reach our destination."

"How long will that take?"

"A two or three days of traveling."

Her face fell, showing that she was near exhausted and was not looking forward to the next two days. As they walked on, she asked another question. "Is there food there?"

"Most likely. The one who has prepared the new base ahead of us enjoys his food."

"Who is he? What's his name? What's he look like?" She pounced on the conversation topic like a cat on a mouse.

"He is my minion." Knives said the statement as if it explained everything.

"Oh." For an hour the only noise that could be heard from the two travelers was the shifting of sand under their feet as they walked over the surface of the desert.

"Knives-sama?"

Knives ground his teeth together and attempted to control himself. He preferred the quiet, contemplative mood of the desert over talking. "Yes?"

"What's a minion?"

"A minion? A minion is a servant, a subordinate. One who exists only to fulfill his or her master's will."

Yume blinked. "Oh. I see. What's his name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, no, not really. I'd just like to know…"

"Legato. Legato Bluesummers."

"Oooo… that's a spiffy name! He must be really awesome!"

Knives chuckled softly. "You might say that."

"I'm still hungry and thirsty though."

Knives-sama gritted his teeth. "Can't you wait until we arrive?"

"But… that's gonna be so long away… and I'm sooooo hungry!" Her eyes shined, pleading with him to give her sustenance.

Knives sighed with frustration and relented to the girl's pleas. "Fine, fine. The next time we pass a town, we'll stop somewhere and get you something."

"Yay!" she grinned and happily skipped down the dune that they had just crested. Knives shook his head and smiled slightly. It always amazed him, the simple ways with which the child could be pleased.

It was not long before they came across a diner, situated at the edges of a small town. Yume practically bounced up to the door, catching herself right before she crashed into it. She whipped around, her long black hair flipping around wildly, and flashed the adult Plant a large grin. "C'mon Knives-sama! There's food to be ate!" She turned back and pushed the diner door open wide, holding it for him.

The diner was deserted save for an older woman who was wiping down a table. She looked up at their entry and smiled. A few stray wisps of graying hair fell over her eyes as the corners of them crinkled. "Hello there. You two dears hungry?"

Knives opened his mouth to answer with an insult to the human race and the woman who had dared to call him such an affectionate term as 'dear' but Yume spoke first. "I'm starving!" she announced, happily cavorting over to the counter and climbing up to sit in a barstool. "My name's Yume! What's yours?"

The woman laughed lightly and extended a small hand to the girl for a frail, yet firm, handshake. "I'm Grace." She cocked her head and eyed the blond-haired, blue-eyed Plant with interest. "And him?"

"He's Knives-sama! My bestest friend in the whole world!" Yume smiled widely at the woman as the old waitress moved behind the counter.

The elderly woman arched an eyebrow at the name 'Knives' and the term of respect the girl had attached to it, but she did not comment. Instead she said, "Well, Knives. You going to take a seat by the girl or no?" She had a slight smile on her old, frail lips and she looked at him expectantly.

"I would prefer to stand," Knives answered coolly.

The old lady shrugged and pulled a pad of paper and a pencil out of her apron. "Suit yourself." She leaned on the counter and addressed Yume. "And what'll you be having, young miss?"

It was Knives' turn to cut the girl off. "Just water."

"Just water?" the old woman looked at him questioningly.

"But Knives-sama, I'm hungry too." Yume turned around in the chair to look at him.

"Food takes money, girl, and we have none of that."

"Oh…" she looked back at Grace, "Just water."

"All right." Grace nodded, slipping the pencil and pad back into her apron. She picked up a glass and a pitcher of ice water and poured a tall glass for the girl, setting it in front of her. She turned to Knives, questioningly. "You want one?"

"I'm fine." Knives answered curtly.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Suit yourself." Grace sat down on a stool behind the counter as Yume sipped at her glass of water noisily. "So, what brings you two out here?"

Knives was not prepared to answer such a question but luckily, Yume answered for him. "We're moving."

"Oh really, where to?"

Yume looked back to Knives weighed his options quickly and decided there was no harm in letting the woman know. "Gorge."

"Quite a trip for a little one like you," she smiled at Yume, "You have a car?"

"We're walking." Yume answered and, as her back was to Knives, she pulled a face to let Grace know how she felt about it.

"Walking?" Grace's tone betrayed her surprise. "All the way to Gorge?" She gave Knives a hostile, suspicious look that seemed to scream 'slave-driver' at him.

He shifted testily on his feet, beginning to dislike the old woman. But since Yume seemed to enjoy her company, he dared not to harm the old witch. Instead, he cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm going to step outside for a bit. It's a little… stuffy in here."

"All right." Yume gave him a smile and waved him off.

As soon as Knives was out the door, Grace turned to Yume with a serious look. "Who is he, girl? Is he related to you?"

Yume gulped from the water and then answered, her brown eyes sparkling. "Oh no. Knives-sama is just my friend. He's taking me to a new home."

"What about your parents?" Grace had a bad feeling about the Knives man. He did not _feel_ right. There was something about his gaze that made her feel like a bug about to be squashed. She had known children that had been kidnapped by such men and she wanted nothing more than to keep the dear child that sat in front of her from being added to the list.

Yume paused, looking up, as if she was searching the air for an answer. She looked back to Grace. "What about them?"

"Are they dead? Is he taking care of you now? Did he take you from them? Did they let him?"

"They…" Yume looked down at the table, struggling for the words. "They're dead. Knives-sama is taking care of me now."

"Oh… I'm sorry." Grace felt relieved, glad that the child was not being taken forcefully. She guessed that Knives was only a protective man, wishing to keep him and the girl safe. Nothing more. At least, she hoped nothing more.

Grace smiled suddenly. "Just a moment, dear. I'm going to go into the back for a moment." As soon as the old woman had disappeared into the kitchen, Knives came back into the diner. "Interesting human…" Knives muttered.

"Yeah, she's pretty nice," Yume agreed, not understanding that Knives did not like the woman. She took a little sip of her water and the two travelers sat, and stood, in silence. Yume picked at a small scratch in the counter's surface and hummed quietly to herself.

Knives flexed his jaw muscle in irritation. _This better not take much longer_, he thought to himself, _I would like to get to Gorge as soon as possible_.

As if she had been reading his mind, the old woman exited from the back of the diner at that moment, wielding a large plate. She set it down in front of Yume, a large grin on her face. "Here you are, dear."

Yume stared down at the large meal Grace had brought her. "But-"

Grace winked. "Don't worry, little one. It's on the house. I am the owner, after all."

"Thank you so much!" Yume said and then dug into the pile of pancakes that was on the plate, drenched in syrup, with a side of sausages and a small roll.

"Well, I figured since you're going to be walking so far, a young girl like you needs to keep her strength up for such a journey." Knives once more found himself the focus of the woman's hard gaze. As Yume ate her free meal, the elderly lady bustled about the diner with a knapsack, putting in small snacks, two water bottles, a few sandwiches, and other odds and ends.

Finally, Yume licked her fork clean and it was time for her and Knives to leave. Grace came out from behind the counter and gave Yume a large hug. "You take care of yourself, you hear?"

"I will. It was great meeting you! I'll come back someday to say 'hi!'" Yume promised.

Grace smiled and then held up the knapsack. "I packed some food for you and your friend to have to munch on the way." Yume let out a joyous exclamation and reached up to take the bag but the woman pulled it back, locking eyes with Knives. "No, no, dear. _He's_ going to be carrying it. I don't want to put any unnecessary strain on you, at such a young age."

Knives found himself near a breaking point. It was everything he could to do to stop himself from instead of taking the bag, breaking the old human's neck. She made him so mad with those little, baited comments. If the child had not been there, the old woman would have been dead a few mere moments after Knives had walked in the door. But the girl was there and Knives had always prided himself on his self-control. He implemented this as he took the bag and gripped it tightly in one fist, his knuckles turning white as snow.

"What do you say?" Grace grinned, knowing that she was getting under his skin.

Knives was silent.

"Knives-sama! That's not polite!" Yume chided him.

Knives swore to himself that he would come back to this diner someday and kill the old woman. "Thank you," he muttered, imagining those words written on the wall with the human's blood. He turned and walked out of the diner, Yume close behind him. 

Grace also walked out of the diner to stand on the porch, watching the two as they walked off into the bright distance of the sand covered surface of Gunsmoke. "Good luck, child," she said to the shrinking girl who was far out of earshot, "Someone who lives with a man like that needs it."

To Grace's surprise, the bright-eyed girl turned and waved, as if she had heard Grace speaking to her. The old woman shook her head, banishing the idea. Telepathy was a myth… right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: I apologize fifty times over for getting this out so late. _ The road trip through Canada took six days and then my computer busted! @_@ The visual was all wacked and stuff so my father had to take it apart, find a loose screw, and put it back together. Then the problem was _still_ there. So he had to take it apart again, look for the screw's place, put it back together and end up with three screws without a home. ~_~;; Males. But, hey! I'm not complaining because the computer works now! ^0^ Yay yay yay! *dances* And because you all are so nice, patient and supportive, Yume and I got you some treats! *Yume wanders among the reviewers dispensing chocolate bunnies* I know it's not Easter, but it's always fun to bite their little heads off. ^_^;; Hehehe…

Anyway, back to the story. The Grace lady was pretty cool (hint: we'll be seeing her again. ^_~). But wait! Yume! You _lied_… You lied to that kind old lady!!

Yume: I had to! *looks sad* But I didn't want to… Grace was so nice…

Jeril: My poor baby's growing up on me. *sniffles and blows her nose on a tissue Yume hands her* And it's all Knives' evil influence! If it wasn't for him, your soul would be as pure as… *searches for a metaphor* dammit…

Yume: 'Pure as dammit?'

Jeril: *gasps and slaps a hand over Yume's mouth* Don't you ever say that word again, young lady! I should ground you!

Yume: But you said it…

Jeril: Well, I'm older and… er, allowed to… sort of… ^_^;; Heh, all right! Next subject! The chapter titles! All the chapter titles so far, and from now on, have some reference to something in the chapter, no matter how small a detail. I'd like to encourage you guys to interpret the titles and tell me what you get from them (if you have the time). I'm really interested in what you're getting from them. ^_^ Anyway, I'll see you all next time! *Yume and Jeril wave 'good-bye'*

P.S. I tried to compile a mailing list from your profiles to inform you all of the update but Hotmail was being a bitch with me and saying the some of the addresses were wrong and crap, so I gave up. ^_^;; But the mailing list will be continued if you want it. Just leave a note saying you want to be on it with your e-mail addy, unless the addy's on your profile. ^_^ Thanks.


	13. Dreams Are Never Simple Things

**Dreams Are Never Simple Things**

For a long time, all that reigned in the desert was the sound of the sand shifting and the occasional gasp for breath from Yume as they crested a dune. Knives thought silently to himself as they walked, pondering over the events of that day. He was slightly confused as to why the girl had required food and drink. Were not Plants able to live off merely light and air? It must be living with humans too long, he finally decided. She had adopted their ways, not knowing of any others. He recalled the fact that when he and Vash had been young and in the care of humans, they had eaten and drank with the humans. In fact, Vash continued to eat to this day, simply for the sake of eating. Knives shook his head ever so slightly, a barely noticeable smile tugging on the corners of his lips. His brother was an odd being. Knives doubted that he would ever be able to understand how he thought, although that did not stop him from trying.

Knives turned his mind to another detail of the day that had caught his attention. He had been listening telepathically to the two females' conversation from outside the diner and when the question about the parents had come up, he had been utterly surprised by the answer Yume gave. She had _lied_ to the old woman. Knives doubted the child had ever lied before in her life, maybe stretched the truth, but never an outright lie.

He turned to ask the child why she had done so when he noticed that while he had been immersed in his thoughts, his pace had increased and caused the girl to fall behind. The Plant paused, waiting for the young child to catch up with him. She arrived panting as a couple small beads of sweat rolled down her face. "Sorry, Knives-sama. I'm a little slow, aren't I?" She glanced up at him, smiling weakly.

"It is not your fault," he answered.

"Can we… rest for a little bit?" she asked tentatively.

He was taken a little aback by the question but nodded in concordance. She flopped down in the sand, a small cloud of dust rising above her to be slowly pulled away by the slight breeze that coursed over them. She lay on her back, watching the few, fluffy white clouds scoot along the sky. They sat in silence for a minute and then he asked his question. "Why… why did you tell Grace what you did back in the diner? Why did you lie to her?"

She sat up and looked up over to him, slightly shocked, though not because he had been listening to the conversation. "Did I say the wrong thing? Are you mad that I lied?" She looked worried that she had done something to displease him so he assured her differently before she exploded into an emotional outburst.

"No, no. It was the right answer to give, but why did you lie?"

"Well…" She drew small, abstract designs in the sand with her forefinger, avoiding eye contact with him by keeping her eyes on her hand. "It seemed like something… you would do…"

Knives stared straight ahead, processing this answer. Had he truly made such an impact on the child? Was she trying to _model_ herself after him now? He smiled to himself. Well, it was a first step on the long path to making her into a proper cohort to help him in the eradication of humankind. Now that it was clear Vash would not, he would need another of his kind to stand beside him and destroy any remnants of the scum that he happened to miss. Legato was only good for so much, he was not capable of even half of what a Plant could do. In the end, he would have to be discarded like the garbage his species was.

"Knives-sama, did I do wrong?" She had mistaken his thoughtful silence as angry and was slowly inching away from him.

"Quite on the contrary, girl." Knives smiled at her and searched for the proper words. "In fact, I am… proud of you. Thinking ahead on how the answer could influence the way the human looked upon you traveling with me… It was very smart of you."

The little girl burst into a wide grin and she slide over the sand, into his lap. She reached up her arms and gave him a large hug, snuggling into his chest. Knives looked down at her and smiled slightly. He brought his arms up slowly and was about to pry her off when he looked down at her and saw the contented smile that was draped across her lips. Slightly, the corners of his mouth twitched up as his arms descended back to the ground and he sat with the girl on his lap, watching the sun slowly drop down upon the horizon, painting the sky a rich red and orange as the dark night sky crept over to claim what the sun had left behind.

Yume drowsed, her sleepy subconscious listening to the comforting beat of Knives' steady heart while her consciousness reviewed, sorted and digested the events of the day. Nearly everything that had happened had taken her little mind by surprise. When she woke up to find her strange dream of leaving with Knives to a new home her actual reality, she had been more than a little shocked. She also had not quite realized how hungry she was until the woman, Grace, had set the plate of food in front of her. Normally, she would have only been able to eat half of a meal that size but since she had not eaten at all that day and had been on the move since before dawn, she devoured ever last scrap on the plate. Likewise, when they had finally stopped, her body had shut down after a few minutes to the point where she could not have stood up again even if her life had depended on it. Now, her exhausted little self could move no more and so she slept, while her body tried to recuperate from the heavy activities of that day.

For once in her short lifetime, the girl did not dream in clear, concise images, which she could easily digest mentally. The pictures that flowed through her mind at the present were fragmented, broken things of little to no sense. They might as well have been the ramblings of a lunatic man for all she understood them. Yet, at the same time, she enjoyed them as she could not enjoy her other dreams. For with this dream, she could dissect the images and search for hidden, inner meanings that were buried deep, unseen to the casual observer.

A thousand stars raced over her head as she barreled through an endless sea of oblivion. She was a free being with nothing to tether her down to the surface of any planet. Not even the laws of physics had any control over her anymore, although the child herself had no knowledge of these laws. She shot through the center of a giant sun, the heat warming her mind and soul as she raced along toward a shining yellow planet. She descended down through the atmosphere and skimmed over the sandy surface of the earth, looking around in wonder at the harsh, yet beautiful planet that was her home.

She soared over a long, narrow, steep-walled canyon and noticed a little city that was precariously sprawled out on the edge, its small houses, stores, and bars laid out haphazardly in no apparent order. It reminded the girl of a time when she had built a small tower out of wooden blocks and then it had been knocked over, causing the blocks to spread out over the floor in a chaotic mess. Finding nothing of interest, she turned to head off in another direction, determined to find something interesting. As she flew past the boarder of the town however, she felt something tugging on her mind, urging her to return. It was as if a small, persuasive voice was talking inside of her head; insisting there was something there inside the town she _needed_ to see. Intrigued, the girl circled back and over the small collection of buildings, looking for the elusive something that beckoned her onward, igniting the fires of her curiosity.

Twice she searched the city from the sky but the mysterious object eluded her questing eyes. She soared high above the canyon, trying to increase the range of area that she covered. As she passed over a section of the canyon wall that suddenly jutted out, creating a small corner area, she noticed a cave in the rock face. Interested in her discovery and wondering if this was the elusive thing she had been searching for, she dove down to investigate the cavern. A quick survey showed that it contained a pile of blankets that were neatly formed into a makeshift bed, a small chair, a table, and towards the mouth of the cave, a small ring of stones with ashes contained inside. Laying on the table's surface were two guns, one of them colored silver and the other colored black. The color differences were the only thing that kept them from being identical and the girl wondered for a moment who owned them.

She exited the cavern, looking around for the person who obviously lived there. She noticed that the slight ledge that jutted out from the mouth of the cave connected to a pathway built naturally into the canyon's side. It meandered lazily up the side of the ravine, finally connecting to the top at a point far away from the grotto. She followed it up to the edge of the chasm and landed on the ground at the end of the path, noticing that it reached normal ground level where the town was just barely visible. Whoever lived in the cave must have enjoyed their privacy.

Hearing a sudden sound, she looked around to see if there was another being present. The man that she saw standing on the edge of the gorge, looking out over it, made her gasp in surprise. He had a tall, commanding figure, accentuated by his long white coat and his striking blue hair. His piercing yellow-amber eyes, one of them hidden behind the hair that draped over the left side of his face, studied the blue horizon as if he was waiting for someone or was searching for a sign from a god of his. This man stood tall and strong on the edge of the ravine and exuded an aura of natural subservient authority. He seemed like one who was a position of great power but he used that force only at the behest of another.

Slowly, he turned to face her, his yellow eyes staring right through over her head as if she did not exist to be seen but he could still feel her presence. He quietly whispered a single word, as if tasting it with his rich, hypnotizing voice. "Master."

The child cocked her head to one side and stared up at the man, wondering to whom he was referring. "What's your name?" she asked and waited for an answer that never came. He instead turned back to look once more at the distant horizon, his searching eyes roaming restlessly.

She waited for a moment, studying him, and then ran past him and off the cliff.

Yume blinked her eyes sleepily and knuckled them as she yawned. She snuggled closer to the warm body of the Plant who held her and was aware that they were moving. "Knives-sama?" she said in a querying tone as she looked up at his face, hidden in the dark night.

"Oh, you're awake. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I had some weird dreams though."

"Ah. You dream a lot more than the average being." She thought she heard a slight smile in his voice. "It must be because of your name."

"My name?" she asked, not understanding what he meant.

"You do not know what it means?" She was silent, feeling oddly ashamed for not knowing that her name actually meant something. "It translates to 'dream' in a language from the planet where the humans originated."

"Oh… Knives-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you carrying me?"

"I did not want to wake you up: you were obviously exhausted. I also knew that both you and I wish to reach our destination as soon as we could so I decided that it would be much faster if I carried you as you slept."

"Don't you need to sleep though?"

"I shall wait until we reach Gorge. For now, that is your domain, little one. Go back to your dreams." Yume noticed with a slight feeling of shame that he was walking at a faster pace then when she had been walking with him. _I knew I was slowing him down_, she guiltily thought to herself as she drifted back into the dark, waiting embrace of sleep. _I'll try harder tomorrow… I promise…_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Okay, peeps. We're in for a _long_ Author's Note. Please stick around and read all of it as a few important topics will be discussed inside.

AnonymousTrigunOtaku, thank you for mentioning that you are still not clear on how Legato survived. I realize now that I was very vague on that point back in chapter five, _In Fear of a Demon_, and I intend to rectify that matter. In the next chapter when Yume encounters Legato for the first time (in person), Legato will go into a deeper explanation of how he lived, mostly to clarify for you all how he survived and also because, well, you'll see… ^_^;; *evil chuckle* Not gonna be _pretty_… And yes. That man Yume saw in her dream was Legato. ^0^ He's such a sexy man beast… *drool*

I also extend a heartfelt 'thank you' to Riina and Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan for taking the time out of their long days to ponder the meaning of the chapter title. ^_^ What I meant it to mean was about how Knives was unable to voice his true opinions or harm the old woman for fear of alienating Yume. But I did like the other, original response I got to the challenge of interpreting the title! ^_^ For participating in this little game, you two will receive a special, limited edition chibi Knives plushie! Glomp him and he gets angry and tries to blast you with his Angel Arm! ^0^ *glomps her own chibi Knives plushie and sticks a finger in the Angel Arm's opening so he can't shoot* Ain't he just _kawaii?!?_

Yume: o.o;; I didn't know Knives-sama was being made into a plushie. *steals Jeril's Knives plushie and huggles him and for some suspicious reason, the plushie does not activate his Angel Arm*

Jeril: *glares at the plushie* Traitor! *pouts* Why does she get all the luck? I shouldn't have made her so charismatic… or nice… or appealing… or likeable… or cute… grrrrs… *looks at the girl, smiles slightly, and then growls angrily, throwing her hands up in the air* Why can't I stay mad at her?!? ~_~ Until next time, folks. Remember; keep your pants on or you might end up with one of those. *jerks her thumb in Yume's direction* No, no, no!! I mean the girl, not the plushie! For crying out loud! *smacks her forehead* Weirdos…

I am so sorry for this chapter having come out so late. With all my heart, I encourage you all to post up your e-mail addresses in your review so I can add you to the mailing list. That way, if I end up going through another two week or, God forbid, a two month slump, I can notify you all that I am not dead and the story has continued. I'm afraid that this might happen a few more times in the next few months (mostly likely until the fanfiction is complete) as I am now back in high school and trying to cope with the stresses, issues and problems that I encounter therein. So, once more: **sign up for the mailing list!**

One last thing; sorry if all of these dreams are annoying you people. . I love dreams however and I feel they add a kind of… unique feel to the story. Anyway, yeah… I'm sorry if any of you are getting sick of them though and I apologize if so. Anyway, until the next chapter, farewell!


	14. To Protect A Butterfly, Sacrifice Yourse...

**To Protect A Butterfly, Sacrifice Yourself**

Yume nibbled on a sandwich as she walked behind Knives, attempting to keep pace with the tall, long-legged Plant. He had said that if they kept up a fast walk and did not stop to rest often, they would reach the town of Gorge by the end of the day. At this point, Yume wanted nothing more than to sleep in a comfy, fluffy bed for a long, long time. She was also horrified by the fact that she was slowing down Knives and so she was determined not to impede their progress any more than she already had. She finished off the sandwich and brushed the crumbs from her hands, moving her feet a little faster as she noticed that she had fallen behind a little.

The dry, heavy silence of the desert made her feel oppressed and so she spoke, trying to relieve some of her anxiety. "Are we there yet?" she asked for want of a better subject. She also had an odd feeling somehow that it was an important question that just _had_ to be voiced.

"Does it look like we are?" Knives replied, not looking at her.

Yume looked around for a nearby town. "Um… no?"

"Then that is your answer."

"Oh…"

They trudged on over and between the golden, mountainous - to the child - dunes of sand, as miles of the hot, dry desert passing beneath their feet. Knives would stop every hour or so and Yume would have a small drink of water to keep her "from dehydrating" as Knives had said. Yume did not really know what that meant but, since she was always thirsty when he offered the water, it sounded like a good idea and so she drank the liquid.

After a long trek through the hot desert, the two travelers finally arrived at the edge of a gigantic gorge. It split the earth in two as if a giant knife had sliced through the desert like butter and on the far side, Yume could make out a few buildings in the distance. She wondered if it was the town that Knives had spoken of. She felt an odd sensation, one of déjà vu, as she looked over the canyon and she realized it was the same one that she had visited in her dream the night before. She opened her mouth to mention this to Knives but decided against it. After all, dreams were merely fictions created by the mind to entertain itself while it sorted through information, or at least that is what her father had told her at one point when he was in an affable mood. There was little to no truth in a dream, it was usually based on a person's reality and then expanded to include improbable events. The two land features were most likely only similar in build and her mind had made her believe they were identical because it wanted them to be.

As she and the tall, blonde Plant stood, looking over the canyon, she felt a tightening in her belly area. She looked down at her stomach quizzically and suddenly, something snapped inside of her. Her mouth dropped open as she felt her belly begin to burn with an inner flame. "K-Knives-sama?" she managed to stammer out as the blood drained from her face and she fought for control over her body.

"Yes?" he turned, taking his eyes off the far side of the gorge, to look at her.

Yume was quite embarrassed by her predicament but the urgency of the situation made her answer his inquiry quicker than she normally would have. "I-I need to… I need to go potty!" She announced, feeling her insides shift and boil. "And _soon_!"

"'Potty?'" Knives looked confused as he repeated the word. "I am not familiar with this term."

"The potty! The potty…" Yume tried to remember the other word for it that she had heard adults use. "The bathroom!! I need to go to the bathroom!" Panic crept into her voice as she wailed: "_Noooowwww_!"

It took a moment for comprehension to dawn on the blue-eyed Plant and he stood staring at the child. She required a receptacle for biological waste products and quite soon, from what he could understand from her body language. He looked around, searching for a place for her to conduct her business. Unfortunately, the town was on the other side of the gorge and there were no bushes or such coverage in sight. He stood, speechless, and not knowing what to do.

The little girl let loose a long, aggravated howl and hopped around. She realized that Knives was not going to do anything and so she took matters into her own hands, snatching the knapsack out of Knives'. Yume ran back the way they had come, quickly reaching the top of one of the dunes and then passing over to the other side where she was out of sight. Knives took a few steps after her and then realized she was going to be occupied and would not appreciate his company. He decided that the best course of action was for him to merely stay where he was and wait for the girl to return.

He did not have to wait very long. She soon reappeared, color having returned to her face and overall looking very relieved. She walked over to stand near the canyon's edge with him and stared at the far distant town. Looking up at his calm countenance, she picked at the stitching on the knapsack and asked, "How are we going to get over there?"

Knives' brow furrowed as he answered. "I do not know actually. There does not seem to be a way across. We might end up having to walk around the canyon."

Yume nearly dropped to the ground from the mere suggestion of more travel but she tried to be strong and asked another question, crossing her fingers as she did so. "How long would that take?"

"Most likely a week or more." She actually did collapse when he said that, landing on her rear with a small _thud_. He looked down at her sharply, a surprised expression dominating his handsome face. "Are you all right, girl?" he inquired, looking at her strangely.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to sit down," she answered, blushing.

"Ah, I see." He continued to look at her for a few more moments, his features undecipherable, but soon he turned back to study the canyon's far wall and the town beyond. Yume sat in the sand, drawing little objects in the yellow grains but she soon grew bored.

She stood back up, dusting off her pants with her hands as she said, "Knives-sama?"

"Hm?" He did not look over at her.

"Can I go look around?"

"I doubt there is much to find but, yes. Go ahead. Do not stray to far away however."

"All right." She skipped off down the edge of the canyon, looking for something to do while Knives pondered a way to cross the great gulf. She stopped at a little outcropping and got down on her hands and knees as she stuck her head over the edge of chasm. Just looking at the hard, rocky floor far below made her head spin and whirl and made her unconsciously start to lean forward. She quickly backed away from brink before she could topple over it, feeling afraid and oddly giddy.

Sitting on the sandy desert as she recovered, Yume studied the side of the gorge that she was on. It seemed to stretch on forever and the girl could see no end to it. She wistfully wondered how long it was and if it traveled all the way around Gunsmoke, a never-ending rift on the planet's surface. The child noticed a large rock formation sticking out of the sand close to the edge just a little ways away from her. Deciding to investigate, she stood up and skipped over to the massive, misshapen boulder.

Quickly crawling up to the highest point on the little mound, Yume threw her hands high up in the air and proclaimed in a loud, unashamed voice, "I am King of the Mountain! Bow down and worship me! Call me 'God' 'cause I am your Master!" She was about to continue ranting when she noticed a rope attached to a part of the rock formation. She jumped down to study it closer and saw that there was another rope and they both led over the edge. Yume crawled close to the edge and peeped her eyes over, wary from her earlier experience. She saw that between the two ropes were boards, making a ladder of sorts, and they led all the way down to the bottom of the gorge.

The child back away from the brink and jumped to her feet, waving her hands in the air to attract the attention of the male Plant as she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Knives-sama! Knives-sama! There's a rope ladder! Knives-sama! Over heeeeere!"

He quickly responded to her call, hurrying over to where she stood. He looked down the length of the rope ladder, not appearing to suffer from the same vertigo that Yume had experienced, and then he studied its appearance. "It does not look too old," he said to himself, fingering the material after he had tugged on the rope to test its strength. "I wonder if it is safe to use…"

"Want me to go down and check?" Yume asked, cocking her head to one side.

Knives glanced at her for a long minute, seeming to assess her offer. Then he nodded curtly, moving back so that she could access the rope ladder. Yume scrambled over to the object and gripped it firmly with her hands as she slid her feet over the edge of the cliff, her shoed toes searching for the top rung. They came in contact and she shifted her weight around to be sure she had her balance and it would not break before she started climbing down. She started off slowly, testing out every rung, trying to find a rhythm that would allow her to descend fast but not slip off on accident.

The girl had to pause after the first fifteen rungs, taking a deep breath and focusing her mind on the fact that she was helping Knives out. The said blond-haired being called down to her and asked her how she was doing and she answered "fine." The actual truth was that Yume was anything but 'fine.' Although the girl did not want to admit it to anyone especially Knives, she was quite terrified of heights and the situation she was in at the moment was sure to guarantee herself many, wonderful nightmares for years to come. The only thing that kept her from panicking was the knowledge that Knives was depending on her to find out if the human contraption was safe. "I won't let Knives-sama down!" she muttered to herself and continued down the ladder.

After what seemed to be an eternity, she touched ground. A wide grin split her face and she called up to the Plant, "It's safe! Come on down, Knives-sama!" He quickly complied, reaching the bottom in a matter of seconds. Yume felt her mouth hang open. "Wow, Knives-sama. You're fast!"

"No, you are just incredibly slow." He gave her an indescribable look. "After all, it took you nearly a half hour to make it all the way down."

"I was trying to be careful…" Yume sniffled.

He shook his head slightly, a small, amused smile playing on his lips. "Never mind, girl. It's not like we had anything better to do with our time." She rubbed her right eye with a balled up fist, nodding slowly. He turned and began to walk across the gorge's smooth bottom floor. He paused and looked back over his shoulder, waiting for the girl to follow him. "Come on, child. Let us go find out what lies on the other side." She nodded and trailed after him.

When they reached the middle of the chasm, Yume pointed down to the ground and exclaimed, "Look! Knives-sama! Water! It's a river!" Actually, it was a horribly small stream, less than a foot across, and it was fed by small springs coming out of the canyon walls that had thinned to mere trickles by the time they met with the middle stream.

"Hn, not a very impressive one." Knives said, but did not comment any further. Yume was taking the opportunity to splash around in the small brook, reveling in the new experience of seeing where water actually came from. The adult Plant let her play for a few minutes before he said in an insistent, though not sharp, tone, "Girl, where you live is going to be just a few minutes away from this stream. You can play in it all you want later. Come on though. I wish to reach our new home before night falls."

Yume's face drew into a pout but she complied with Knives' request, falling back into step behind him, her soggy shoes making squelching noises every time she set her foot down. They searched up and down the side of the cliff face for another, similar rope ladder and soon found one. However, there was a pulley system set up beside it, which led Knives to believe that the stream below was the town's source of water. He looked expectantly at Yume and she quickly moved forward to begin her scramble up the rope ladder.

Climbing up a rope ladder was a much more exhausting task than climbing down one, Yume soon realized as she felt her limbs grow leaden. She wished silently that Knives had allowed her a few more minutes of rest but continued upwards, determined to not take as long going up as she had coming down. She studied the rope and wood passing by her as she climbed and noticed that the rope seemed older and more frayed. The wooden rungs also looked like they had more wear on them and some of them had deep gouges scraped in them.

As she neared the top of that side of the gorge, Yume heard a small creaking noise. She thought nothing of it as she reached up past the last rung but then a loud _crack_ split the air. Distantly, as if from a long tunnel, she heard Knives call out a wordless, hoarse warning as the rope gave way beneath her. She screamed and her hands shot out for a handhold on the edge of the cliff as her reality sped forward, stampeding as fast as her heartbeat. The rope ladder tangled and twisted around her legs, beginning to drag her down as her hands clung with all their little might to the rock face.

Yume hung precariously from the canyon's edge, her fingers slipping as she scrabbled for purchase on the gritty surface while trying to kick off the dead, cloying weight the rope ladder produced. She felt a deep, dark feeling of utter terror and dread grip her body and paralyze her limbs as she realized that she was going to slip and fall to her death within the next few moments.

Suddenly, the bright sun above her head was blocked out by a shadow and a large hand reached down and grabbed hold of her forearm. It lifted her up and pulled her over the side of the gorge, onto firm ground and the blessed earth's foundation. Yume clung to the hand and the safety and comfort that such a savior and the rock beneath her feet brought with it. "I expect that you will release me now or suffer the consequences that the action of holding on for a longer period of time will bring," intoned a rich, calming, all too familiar voice.

Shocked, Yume looked up and her wide brown eyes met the golden amber orbs of her savior's, the man of her dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: Hey all. Sorry if there are any errors made that have not been found and dealt with. My beta-reader was sick and could not read through this chapter. I also apologize about the long delay for this new chapter, which is a little bit longer than it would have normally been as a reward. My new high school is a royal pain in the ass and I've been getting homework and projects by the boatload. I would like to thank you all for being _so_ patient and understanding. I also promise you that I have no intention whatsoever of ending this story, as some of you might be dreading. It would help me if you e-mailed me and encouraged me to finish any chapters once you believe I have taken much too long. ^^ Don't worry, I won't bite. Hehe, anyway, next item…

Thanks for guessing at the meaning of the last chapter's title, Riina. ^^ I meant it more in the sense that dreams are sometimes hard to analyze and understand their true meanings, but your idea was a bit true. I had so much trouble starting writing that dream sequence. @_@ I nearly wanted to shoot myself in the foot for deciding to put it in the chapter 'cause I could hardly figure out how to start it… *sigh* Well, I think it turned out all right…

Onto the next matter of business… *pats sobbing Knives fans on the back* There, there. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Knives is a bastard, but that's why we love him. Even if she's a child, even if she's a Plant, he would still send her down first. Hell, he'd even do that to Vash! To Knives, Knives' safety comes first above _all_ else. *sniffles*

Yume: I was so happy I could help Knives-sama! *she grins* He's so loving and caring!

Jeril: *sweatdrop* God, they must have bashed your head into the ground when you were born… *shakes her head with a sigh* Anyway, in the next chapter, Legato finally enters in! For good! Well, at least for a while… *grins* I love Legato! XD He is my god! *drool* And damn sexy too.

Yume: What does 'sexy' mean?

Jeril: Er, wonderful…

Yume: Knives-sama is sexy! *smiles broadly*

Jeril: *smacks herself* God, that doesn't sound right coming from the mouth of a five-year-old… I need to start monitoring my vocabulary while I'm around her…


	15. And the Dream Meets the Man of Dreams

**And the Dream Meets the Man of Dreams**

She let go of his hand and backed up a few steps in confusion. The man stared down at the child, the sun glinting off his purple-blue hair as his golden eyes studied her closely. She became painfully aware of the dust that coated her body and her soggy shoes that made squishing noises as she shuffled from foot to foot nervously. A few of her fingers tangled themselves in her long, black hair as they attempted to make order from the dirty, chaotic black mass. His eyes reflected his disgust and disproval as he turned, striding over to the canyon's edge where he gazed down at the fair-headed Plant far below. Yume saw the man's body tense and, in a voice that had the barest trace of joy in it, he said, "Master?"

"Are you going to find a way to get me up there, Legato Bluesummers, or are you going to waste that brain of yours like the rest of your garbage race does?" Knives' sharp voice rang out from the canyon floor in answer.

"If You will wait just a moment, Master, I will have devised a way to bring You up to this level." The man, Legato, turned around and as Yume watched him, she thought she saw the faintest glimmer of tears in the corners of his closed eyes. He stood for a moment, either composing himself or immersed in thought, Yume could not tell which. His eyes fluttered open and his piercing, predatory gaze focused on the broken ladder lying in the dust and sand. He waited for a long minute, only staring at the rope ladder. Then he picked it up and began to pull on it, down its length, testing its strength as Knives had done to its twin.

"What are you going to do with that?" Yume ventured to ask, her curiosity overcoming the overwhelmed state her mind had fallen into.

He looked at her quizzically, as if amazed that she had spoken. Ignoring the question, he turned back to the edge of the cliff and threw one end of the ladder over, holding the other end in his hands. Yume hurried to the edge and looked down at the Plant far below. Knives held the end of the rope ladder in his hands, looking at it with a judgmental expression, Yume glanced back to Legato and saw that he had wrapped the ends of the rope firmly around his hands and, with a determined set to his jaw, he had one foot braced against a rock. The ropes suddenly went taunt and Legato was jerked forward slightly as Knives put his weight onto the ladder. Yume saw a smile twitch at the corners of Legato's mouth and the man relaxed a small amount as he adjusted to his task. She turned to look down to see where Knives was once more and quickly backed up, startled, as he scrambled over the lip of the cliff.

Knives nodded to Legato, barely acknowledging his presence, and said, "Lead on."

Legato bowed and said, "This way, Master," as he gestured to the left. He began walking that way and Knives followed him. Yume took a step forward and paused, looking back to the right. She saw a town sprawled out in the distance and remembered her dream from the night before. She shivered as she felt something crawl up her spine while she fervently wished that she did not know where the blue-haired, amber-eyed man was taking her and Knives.

As it turned out, Yume did know where Legato was going to lead her and Knives. All the while they walked down the rock path, she felt an incredible sense of déjà vu that threatened to sweep her off her feet and carry her off the ledge to the ground far below. That, coupled with her fear of heights, did not make the short journey a very enjoyable one.

When the small group of three reached the cave, Knives immediately moved forward to sit in the chair while Legato stood a short distance away from the table, waiting expectantly. Feeling somewhat out of place, Yume moved quietly to the bed of blankets in the back and sat down to watch the two speak.

"Report," Knives commanded curtly.

"Yes, Master." Legato settled himself into an assumably more comfortable stance and began his narration. "After my confrontation with, and injury by, Vash the Stampede, I retired to a secure location to recover and to reassess and reevaluate my situation. Subsequent to a relatively long period of recovery, I began to search the world for Your whereabouts. It took longer than I had expected but I eventually located You and left a short note for You to find. The rest is already known to You, I presume."

Knives nodded. "Duly noted."

"May I have permission to ask a question of You, Master?" Legato inquired hesitantly and a faint smile tugged at the corner of Knives' mouth.

"As you already have, you might as well ask another. What is it you wish to know?"

Legato made a small, indicating gesture towards Yume. "Who is the girl?"

"Her name is Yume and she is a Plant," Knives answered simply. At that statement, Legato's face registered shock and Yume found herself the focus of intense scrutiny by his amber eyes. Knives also contemplated Legato and his visible reaction to the news. Knives looked down at the table and stroked its surface idly, saying, "Do you not believe me, Legato Bluesummers?" He looked up with pale, icy, dangerous eyes to lock gazes with Legato's golden orbs.

Legato studied his master and stood for a moment without speaking. Then he said simply, "Yes, Master."

Knives' expression did not change very much. Only his brow moved, shifting into a position that did not betray rage or anger, merely slight surprise and curiosity. "Why do you not believe this, Legato Bluesummers? I do. Do you doubt your master?" The last words had a distinct steely quality to them. Yume did not quite understand what was going on, but she felt that it was a tentative time and she stayed quiet, merely observing the events as they unfolded.

"I could never doubt You, Master," Legato answered.

"Then why do you not believe in what I have told you?"

"Because I do not doubt You, Master. I doubt _her_. I believe she has fooled You somehow, using some despicable, _human_ trick. I doubt, Master, that she is a Plant." Legato glared at Yume with a gaze that would have proved lethal had it manifested into the physical world. She drew her knees up to her chest in a defensive posture and looked down at the floor, not wishing to meet his eyes.

"She has said no more than ten words in your presence. How can you doubt her when you have nothing on which to base this doubt?"

Legato did not answer.

Knives nodded, satisfied that everything had been cleared up and dealt with. He stood up from the chair and looked out of the cave's entrance. "I believe I shall take a walk and familiarize myself with the nearby terrain. I shall return shortly." He exited, leaving behind two people at odds in a situation that would either sort itself out, or destroy those involved in the process.

Yume sat on the pile of blankets, slowly rocking back and forth and feeling very uncomfortable with the predicament she now found herself in. The man Legato was eyeing her distastefully, as if he was amazed that she was still alive and the earth had not opened up to swallow her down whole. Yume wracked her limited brain for something to talk to the man about, something that would be a completely neutral topic that he might respond to. She hesitantly queried the man, "What's your favorite color?"

Legato Bluesummers stared at her with an expression he would have used if she had just grown a third arm. It took him a few moments to respond as he wondered if she was serious and came to the conclusion that she was. "Blue," he answered.

"Ah, blue's a fun color," Yume nodded sagely. "The sky's blue."

His expression evolved to a higher level of disbelief. Then, it moved on to reflect disgust and he strode forward to stand over her. Grabbing her shirt, he pinned her down to the blankets with his forearm and said coldly, "Don't dare think that I buy your act for a moment, girl. I don't know what game you're playing and what your goal is, but I'll find out and then I'll kill you for it."

Yume felt her bowels loosen and she secretly was grateful that she had relieved herself less than an hour before or else she knew she would have done it right there and then. She half expected him to add casually something along the lines of "I eat little girls like you for breakfast." The child did not know what scared her more about the way he spoke; how he was precise and to the point all the time or how he delivered everything with calm, composed, detached cynicism. She stared up at Legato in a mixture of fear and fascination and she noticed that on his forehead, under the hair that draped over the left side of his face, there was a horribly disfiguring ring-shaped scar. Before he realized what she was doing, she reached out and gently touched it with a feather-light finger.

He let go of her shirt and backed up with a stagger, as though he had been slapped. Yume looked up at him, wondering why he reacted with such extremity. "Where'd you get that?" she asked quietly, unable to understand or elude the allure the man entrapped her with.

Legato held a hand to the left side of his face, covering his eye and scar, and did not respond. His visible eye seemed glazed over, like he was lost in memories of a time before.

"Is that the injury you said you got when you were talking to Knives-sama?" Yume inquired.

"Yes, it is." The mention of Knives' name seemed to pull Legato back to the present and he looked down at Yume, taking his hand away from his face.

"How'd you get it?"

Legato shifted into a stance Yume recognized from before. She mentally dubbed it his 'story-telling pose' as Legato began to speak. "I was confronting Vash the Stampede at LR Town. My orders from Master were to make sure Vash the Stampede suffered eternally and that is what I accomplished. By kidnapping Vash the Stampede's friends, I forced him into a most uncomfortable situation. Either he could stand by and watch his friends die or he might take initiative and save them. Of course, the second option did not come without a price. To save them, he had to kill me."

"Kill you?" Yume spluttered.

"Yes, kill me. After a few minutes of arguing and pleading, Vash the Stampede finally did the deed. Whether fortunately or not, his bullet entered my brain at such an angle that in its passage through the tissue therein, it encountered nothing of relative importance, therefore leaving me with my mind and skills intact and at my disposal." Legato reached up and touched the scar with something akin to reverence. "It's still in there, embedded somewhere in the throbbing brain matter contained within my skull."

The hand fell back to Legato side and after clearing his throat slightly, he continued with his story. "I, however, was incapacitated for an hour or so while my body recovered from the shock of the injury. Vash the Stampede left with his two friends after standing over my body for a few moments in what I dare say was an act of mourning. Definitely to my own fortune, they did not bury my body. I recall that Vash the Stampede wanted to, but his companion, Meryl Stryfe, argued that I was not worthy of wasting any more of their time and at least my body would do some good in feeding the carrion beasts, making up partially for the evil I had accomplished while living. After they left and I recovered enough to stand, I departed the location with some effort, not wishing to remain any longer than was necessary." Legato closed his story without a closing statement; merely telling the facts as they stood and leaving them open to interpretation.

Yume sat on the pile of blankets and looked up at Legato, thinking about his story and him. Legato stared back at her for a period of time and then said, a slight snap to his tone, "Well?"

"That…" Yume struggled for the perfect words and fell far short. She grasped out and spoke the first thing that came to mind. "That must've really hurt."

Legato looked at her with an unreadable expression. After a moment, he said softly, "It did… but not as much as those few moments that stretched on for a small eternity where all that I knew was that I was dying and leaving my Master behind."

Yume opened her mouth to speak, but found there were no words left for her to use. She sat on the pile of blankets, broiling in the uncomfortable silence as she wondered if she would ever feel at ease around this enigma of a man.

A slight shuffling sound at the cave's entrance alerted both Yume and Legato to Knives' return. Legato nodded a greeting to the Plant, saying in a tone that masked his emotions, "I welcome your return, Master." Knives nodded tersely in response to his minion's hail.

Yume, on the other hand, did not hesitate in showing her affection. She leapt to her feet and barreled past Legato to jump onto Knives, wrapping her arms around his neck. She grinned widely up at him and chirped, "I missed you, Knives-sama! Welcome back!" A small smile tweaked the edges of his lips and he nodded to greet her also. Yume buried her face into his chest so she could hide her expression because she was no longer smiling. She felt afraid and lonely suddenly, as now she could feel the piercing, cold yet hot stare of jealousy that threatened to burn twin holes right through her back and into her small, beating heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: *crawls out from under the rock that she has been living under* Greetings. I would apologize for the horribly long delay, but I feel that I apologize too much and you people are probably sick of apologies from me. So… I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a royal pain in the ass producing. Legato just would not cooperate with me. . I felt like shooting him myself half of the time.  Oh, and yes. In my own little fanfiction Trigun-verse, Legato is really _that obsessed. ^_^;; If you want to get a better idea of exactly how obsessed, read my little one-shot 'Anokata' and by the end you should have a good idea of his mentality. ^^;; And yes, he is fairly strong too, although Knives does not way that much anyway…_

I must say though, my favorite line in this chapter was "She half expected him to add casually something along the lines of "I eat little girls like you for breakfast."" Hehehe. I actually was going to have Legato say that, but I realized it would be OOC for him, so I had Yume think it. ^_^;; Yay for getting inside characters' heads! I also liked it when she said "That must've really hurt." Legato tells her his story and that's all she can say. Heh.

Speaking of getting inside Yume's head, I just want to add that when I write her thoughts down, except in a few special cases, I tend to glorify them. Such as when Yume wonders if "she would ever feel at ease around this enigma of a man". Now, the 'enigma of a man,' referring to Legato, is utterly glorified. I don't think Yume even knows what the word 'enigma' means, or even if it is a word. So, I tend to write her thoughts not as a five-year-old would think them, but in a better context for you and I to understand what she is thinking. So, forgive me for that. ^^;;

Anyway, next chapter, expect a "bit" of a time-warp. I'm thinking we'll be jumping forward… hm, probably ten years or so. I really don't want to but one way or another, it's going to have to go forward that much time and I really don't want to trudge through ten years of their lives. @_@ Don't worry though, I'll most likely include a few flashbacks to show you how Legato and Yume do, or do not depending on your perspective, adjust to each other.

Yume: Uncle Legs is such a wonderful person! *starry eyes* He's almost better than Knives-sama!

Jeril: Erg… I do hope Legato doesn't maim her somewhere along the way… that would be quite a shame…

Legato: Hm, maiming. I have not thought of that idea yet. *eyes Yume* I think I will.

Jeril: o.o How, oh, how is Yume going to survive ten long years living with both Legato and Knives? I have no idea myself. ^_^;; I think that's a bad thing though…

About the next update, I can't make any promises, but I hope to have it up in two to three weeks. But, if you want to know the minute it's updated, join the **mailing list. Just leave your e-mail addy in a review and you'll be added. Until next time, farewell!**


	16. The Changing Times

The Changing Times

Welcome back, dear reader, to the dry and sandy desert plant of Gunsmoke. Follow me and do try to be quiet as we advance over the golden sands and through the hot, dry air to a place that should be quite familiar to you. The ancient canyon stretches over the surface of Gunsmoke for many iles, splitting the face of the planet like some half-healed wound that has refused to respond to medical treatment. Look closely and you will see a town in the distance, a town that you undoubtedly remember hearing about before.

Now, ever so quietly as we near the canyon, notice the man standing forlorn on the edge of the great crevasse. Does he look familiar to your eyes? If not, I find myself unsurprised. These last ten years have worn hard on the man known as Legato Bluesummers and he has changed so much since we last looked on him. The bullet buried deep within the confines of his skull has negated the fountain of youth granted to him by the attachment of Vash's left arm. Now his body is once more subject to the passing of the years, no longer an isolated oasis of frozen time. His once pure blue hair has faded with age, its silky, shining lengths now reduced to a glacial white, tinted with the faint sky blue found far below in the shimmering depths of the frozen ice where only the sun dares to travel freely. If you look closely at his smooth face, you can see faint lines gathered at the corners of his eyes, though those piercing golden orbs still shine as brightly as ever, glistening with a cunning intelligence that not even time can dull.

And like his eyes, ever unchanging, his mind is of the same opinion it took a stand on and held ten long years ago…

Legato spent a lot of time, high up on that vantage point, staring across the expansive horizon. He stood there and waited, as he had ten years ago, although this time he knew not what for. Perhaps he waited for old age to claim his life. Or maybe he patiently bided his time as he waited for Vash the Stampede to come and finish the job he had botched those long years before.

One of the known causes for his retreat to the spot however, was simpler and involved no unnecessary delving into that enigma's psyche. Legato Bluesummers, the last loyal minion to Millions Knives, the bearer of Mankind's doom, spent many of his hours on the edge of that canyon because he immensely disliked the sound of a child's laughter.

Or, more specifically, his disliked the sound of Yume's laughter.

In fact, he disliked any noise the child made.

For the last ten years, he had had to put up with the girl and even, at some more horrendous points, _take care_ of the brat. Multiple times he had tried to introduce the child 'accidentally' to her maker but alas, the girl had an amazing ability to detect danger and avoid it. He recalled each of the plans as clearly as he remembered each one's failure. Legato absentmindedly began petting his left hand as he thought, stroking the eternally soft and sleek skin of Vash the Stampede.

The first attempt on the girl's life had been made roughly seven months after she and Knives had arrived. Legato would have killed her directly by his own hands, and been successful in the attempt, but he knew that to do so would incur his Master's wrath and most possibly his own demise. That was not something that Legato wished to happen and so he plotted out a way for the girl to meet her end and have no blame fall onto his head.

For weeks Legato had been experimenting with his powers on the girl, seeing to what extent he could manipulate her mind and physical actions. His experiments had been fruitless in some aspects as he discovered the most physical activity he could induce her into executing was a mere eye blink or twitch of one of her fingers. The girl's latent abilities protected her from anything more unfortunately. However, quite by accident, he had discovered a weakness of the girl; a flaw not of her abilities but coming from her mind itself.

One rather uneventful day, Legato was relaxing in a chair and musing to himself about his current hunger and how he was craving a hotdog very much at that moment. Knives was out that day and Legato knew not what his Master was doing and he had no desire to ask. His Master's business was not his to know unless Knives saw fit to inform him of it. 

Legato noticed Yume look up at him suddenly from where she had been reading a small book Knives had provided for her. She chewed her lip for a moment as she touched her stomach. Then she announced softly, "I'm hungry." Her gaze turned inquisitive. "Are you?" Legato nodded in acquiesce. Her face assumed a thoughtful look and then she asked, "Could we have some hotdogs? I really want a hotdog."

"You just ate an hour ago." Legato reminded her.

"But I'm _really_ hungry and I want a hotdog. Please?" she gave him the look that she usually reserved for Knives when she was endeavoring to melt his heart. Legato looked coldly at her until she squirmed slightly, and then nodded, standing up to fetch the hotdogs. Inside though, he was delighted that she had requested hotdogs as that gave him an excuse to eat some himself. He thought it odd that she was hungry at the same time as he was, for hotdogs too, but he did not dwell long on the notion as he had a much more important activity to attend to.

Later that same day, Legato was once more stretched out on the aforementioned chair though this time he was not in a relaxed state. He was so overjoyed when he brought out the hotdogs for Yume's and his consumption that in his excitement he devoured a large number of the plump edibles. Seven to be exact, and now his stomach was complaining once more, but not of hunger this time. Nausea was assailing the poor man as he clutched the chair's arms hard and tried to convince his roiling belly to stop its imitation of an earthquake ranking a 9.0 on the Richter scale.

Yume was once more occupied with her book, happily coloring in a small picture in the book intended for such a purpose. She glanced up to look at Legato's pale face and said in a cheerful voice, "You don't look so good, Legato man!" Legato glared balefully at the child with as much ferocity as he could muster in his weakened condition. She merely smiled and returned to her coloring.

After a moment however, the furious motions of her small hand ceased and she looked up once more, her face now as pale as Legato's. She quickly set down her book and crayons and put a hand to her head, mumbling quietly to herself, "I don't feel well…"

Legato lifted an eyebrow slightly at this turn of events. He wondered for a moment if the hotdogs had spoiled but dismissed that thought. He had purchased them only two days before and the refrigeration unit that they used usually kept hotdogs fresh for at least two weeks before they began to decay. And they were always long gone before that much time had elapsed from their purchase.

Why then was the girl feeling sick? She had only eaten one of the plump meat foods and that was far from any amount of food that would cause her to feel bad from overeating. So why was she feeling just like he was?

An idea sparked to life in Legato's brain and he mused over it for a long moment, staring at the uneasy looking child as he thought. Then he concentrated hard on the roiling motions of his stomach and the nauseous feeling building within his body, amplifying it outward and at the girl, forcing the sensations down her mental throat. She lurched to her feet and staggered out of the cavern. From his chair, Legato listened with a certain satisfaction as the girl heaved out the contents of her small stomach over the edge of the path on the canyon's side. "So," he excogitated, forgetting about his physical misery as he tasted the pleasant words traveling over his tongue as they left his mouth, "there is a chink in her suit of armor after all. This is a pleasing discovery."

After a few more tentative experiments and some very pleasing results, Legato came to the conclusion that he was able to affect how the girl felt though it took a great deal of concentration on his part or a very powerful emotion that he was feeling and could direct at her. As a result of her sensitivity to others' feelings and state of mind, the girl had a large gap in her abilities that left her open to this unseen and hard to perceive attack. Although it was not direct control of the girl, it still was quite a powerful force against her as she was still young and thus easily manipulated and unaware of the backdoor to her feelings.

Legato continuously monitored all traffic with a fifty ile radius of their encampment and two weeks after his experiments, he discovered a small group of bandits moving through this area. This was when his first plan on Yume's life was hatched and quickly put underway. He concentrated on the girl, awakening within her small body the desire to run, to jump, to send herself sprawling into the sand of the desert. He saw her eyes light up and she sprang to life, bounding over to Knives. "Knives-sama!" she called out in her annoyingly cheerful voice.

"Yes?" he looked coolly at her but Legato saw the small tug at the corners of his lips, the sign of a suppressed smile. While Legato's countenance remained calm and unmoved, inside he felt his emotions boil and churn in anger and jealousy. He hoped with a vicious internal grin that the bandits killed her slowly and painfully.

"It so sunny and nice outside! Can I go play up the path?" she asked, giving him a look that would have melted ice.

"It's always sunny here," Knives answered, his expression unvarying. "It is a rare occasion when clouds gather over one area." He enjoyed stringing her out but he always gave into what she wanted and she had grown to know that.

"You're so silly, Knives-sama!" Yume laughed and the little ringing chimes echoed through the cavern that they lived in. She skipped toward the entrance and called out over her shoulder, "See you later Knives-sama! Bye, Uncle Legs!"

Legato felt his well-kept composure begin to crumble at the child's parting shot. She had made up the nickname for him recently and although it was evident that it got under his skin faster than any other thing she could say, she still called him it. He supposed that she was so oblivious to the nuances of human body language that she could not understand that the moniker irritated him. Legato breathed deeply and closed his eyes to think calming thoughts, which were mainly composed of images of Yume's decapitated body strewn over golden desert sand stained a rusty color with her blood.

Yume skipped through the sand, singing a song that she recalled from her time at the daycare. "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out." Although she knew not what a 'water spout' was and doubted that it could rain enough to wash anything away, she liked the little ditty's tune and found it stuck in her head often. Her eyes were drawn to a small dust cloud that was close on the horizon and growing. Curiosity flooded her mind and she skipped towards the cloud, intent on discovering its origin.

This turned out to be a group of thomases, ridden by tough looking men wielding guns. Yume stopped and stood in their path, waiting for them. The lead man saw her and when his group was fifteen or so feet away from the girl, he pulled his thomas to a halt and stared at the little girl with a slightly puzzled look. "Hey, kid! What're you doing out here alone?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Playing in the sand," Yume answered with a smile, rocking back and forth on her heels. "What're _you_ up?"

One of the other men grinned at the girl, exposing his yellow, rotten teeth to view, and Yume wrinkled her nose at the sight. "We're playing too."

"Wanna play together?" One of the other men chimed in, winking at his companion and fingering a large knife at his hip.

"Sure!" Yume jumped up and down and clapped her hands in joy. "I haven't had anyone to play with in a long time! Knives-sama and Legato man never want to play with me."

"Knives?" The leader waved his hand at his men to shut up with their snickering. "Who is this Knives?"

"I live with him and Legato man! He's the best!" Yume smiled happily.

A small man who looked suddenly nervous piped up. "Boss? Wasn't there that incident at Tonim where everyone disappeared and they found the name 'Knives' written on a monument in blood?"

"Yeah." Yume noticed that most of the men had turned quite pale and were looking about themselves restlessly.

"You think this is the same Knives?" the man asked the leader, who was gnawing on his lip with agitation.

"It's not that common a name, boss!" another man chimed.

"Yeah, we shouldn't chance it!" The entire group was nodding and murmuring to themselves in agreement. The boss opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"Hey! Who're they?" the small man pointed toward the way Yume had come and at two figures moving quickly towards the bandits. "You think one of them could be that Knives guy, boss?"

"How should I know?" the leader snapped. "I've never seen this psychopath before! How can I know what he looks like?"

"Ask the kid!" someone yelled.

"Yeah!" The leader fixed a threatening glare on the child and barked, "Is one of those guys Knives?"

Yume turned and squinted, looking at the approaching people. "I can't really tell. It's hard. The sun's behind them. One of them looks like the Legato man. They might be them. But I dunno!" She shrugged and smiled.

The men stared at her with a quizzical look. One of them turned to the other and said in a low voice, "Why's she smiling?"

"I dunno, but I don't think she's all together, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I agree."

Yume looked more closely at the two figures and let out a loud squeal of delight. "Knives-sama!" She dashed towards the Plant and latched herself around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Hello, girl. Having fun?" Knives asked Yume although he kept his eyes on the group of bandits in front of him.

"Yeah! Meet my new friends!" Yume jumped back and waved excitedly at the group of men. "They're really nice!"

"I'm sure." Knives' voice was frosty and Yume could tell something was wrong but what it was she was not very sure of. He grabbed her hand and turned to face Legato. "I trust you will take care of them?"

"Of course, Master." Legato nodded and Knives left, Yume in tow. She protested for a few moments but realized that there was no way she was going to be allowed to stay with her new 'friends' and so she quieted down and followed Knives obediently.

Legato faced the group of bandits, his expression calm but his voice dripping with anger. "You stupid, pathetic men. Every day you break what little laws this godforsaken planet has. Every day you kill people. And this one time you decided not to? You are truly useless."

The leader of the group drew his gun. His comrades grinned, thinking their boss was going to shoot the unarmed man standing before them, but their grins quickly faded when he took aim at one of their own. "Boss, what-" the unfortunate man started but his words were cut off by a loud _crack _and a blossom of red blood on his chest that ran down his shirt. He stared at the wound for a moment with a stupid, puzzled smile on his face, and then slid off his thomas to land on the sand quietly.

"Help me! I can't stop myself!" the leader howled, his face contorted in shock as he watched his hand take aim once more and shoot another of his companions.

"He's gone mad! Stop him!" the small man cried out, pulling out a large shotgun and taking aim to shoot at the man under Legato's control. Then he watched in surprise as he took aim once more and shot the man on the thomas next to him.

Legato stood, watching impassively as the men turned on each other, wildly shooting people who they had known for years and suddenly perceived as a threat. When all were lifeless corpses draining their lifeblood into the golden sands, he stared at the chaotic work he had created. Then, he turned and began walking back to report to his Master.

And that is generally how all of Legato's attempts to destroy the girl had gone for the past ten years. No matter his medium to complete the job, it has failed whether by human error, or by the girl's own blind luck.

Legato stood on the edge of the crevasse and looked up at the clear, unclouded sky. He felt his lips quiver with the hint of a smile as he recalled the incidents. Someday the child's luck would run out. It had to. And, when that long awaited day came, Legato Bluesummers would be waiting patiently for her, holding a one-way ticket to Hell with her name on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back after a long, long absence, here I am. Hope you all enjoyed the chap. It probably wasn't what you expected and I would love feedback on it, like always. That's pretty much all I have to say except if you're craving more Trigun stuff by me in the gap between the next update, check out my two oneshots and my Vash songfic to the song "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd. I'm going to try to finish this fic by its one year birthday, the 4th of May. So expect my updates to be much more frequent. The next chapter will be focused somewhat on Vash and what's happened to him in the past ten years. I'll see you all then. Take care until next time.


	17. A Graceful Recurrence

**A Graceful Recurrence**

Vash looked out over the expansive desert from a point on a high dune and wondered, not for the first time that day, where his brother was. For ten years he had searched over the dry planet for any sign of Knives and so far his search had proven quite futile. When Knives wished to hide from others, he could not be found easily. Vash had learned this lesson well from their childhood together on the SEEDS ship, although most of the time they were almost inseparable. There, Knives had had an entire ship to explore and find nooks and crannies in which to secret himself away from the other crew members for days if he wished to be alone to think. Here, Knives had an entire planet full of possible hiding places. Just thinking about all the possibilities made Vash feel the beginnings of a headache gearing up within his brain matter.

The tall Plant took a deep breath and let it go. Worrying about Knives' location was not going to find the other Plant. Action was the only thing that would. He started down the dune, determined to continue on his quest even if it took the rest of his lifetime, however long that was.

His stomach rumbled quietly, notifying him of its empty state. Although, as a Plant, he did not require food to live, he enjoyed it a great deal and so his stomach was used to regular input. If he ignored the complaints, they would stop within a day or so though he would feel slightly uncomfortable for another couple of days afterwards.

Idly, he wondered if he would be able to find food today. He had finished the last of his provisions the night before and he was now really hungry. "Traveling sure takes a lot out of you," he muttered to himself as he trudged doggedly through the never-ending wasteland of Gunsmoke.

Because he was bored and wanted to pass the time, he began humming to himself and old, cherished song. Well, he hummed it not entirely because he was bored. The fact is he used almost every excuse that came his way to recall the song to mind. Doing so kept it fresh inside of him, ensuring the fact that his memory of the song, and its originator, would never grow old or tarnished. "_So_... _hitotsu__-me no yoru ni __izuko__ kara koishi ga sekai ni ochiru…_" He could hear her singing as clearly as though it had been only yesterday that he first heard the song. "Rem…" he muttered her name carefully, caressing precious memories of her with the love in his voice.

He was distracted from thoughts of her by his feet carrying him to the crest of another dune. It was like any of the others, plain and uninteresting, except for one fact; it allowed him to see the small town in the distance. Vash let out a little whoop of joy and raced down the dune, exhilarated by the thought of food.

The tall Plant decided to stop and eat at an old diner that was situated on the very edge of the town. The paint on the building was cracked and peeling, telling a story that it had obviously seen better days, and from inside the diner, shouting was faintly heard. He opened the old door of the diner and walked in, its rusty hinges squeaking in anguish as it closed shut behind him. The shouting that he had heard from the outside had suddenly stopped and his brow crinkled as he wondered what the source of the noise was.  "Hello?" he called out, his eyes scanning the diner for any human, or otherwise, sign of life. "Anyone home?"

"One minute please!" someone called from the kitchen loudly in a smooth, feminine voice. The words were followed by a sharp clang and a shuffling sound similar to feet on a hard floor. Vash removed his sunglasses and sat down on a stool at the counter, idly wondering what was going on back there. He craned his neck and tried to look through the cook's window when an old woman walked through the swinging door. "Ah ah ah! No peeking!" she chided him teasingly, a kind smile crinkling her worn features.

"Hi there!" Vash smiled back at her, recognizing a kindred spirit when he saw one.

"I assume you're hungry?" she pulled a pad and pencil from an apron pocket, her eyes twinkling.

"Starving, actually!" His stomach grumbled in agreement and he laughed. "I hope you've got enough food back there 'cause I feel like I could eat a whole thomas!"

Suddenly, the swinging door burst open, nearly hitting the older woman, and a stocky man stormed out, his face red. "Yeah, she's got enough food but she ain't got a cook!" he snarled and stomped out of the diner. The lady looked slightly taken aback but Vash suspected that she had known this was coming.

He swallowed nervously in the awkward silence and fiddled with his glasses. "Well, um… you know, I could just cook the food myself…" he offered, giving the frail-looking woman an understanding look.

"Oh, I couldn't…" she began protesting but he waved his hand.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Just show me around the kitchen and we can talk while I cook." He smiled winningly at her.

"Well, if it really doesn't matter to you…" She led him into the kitchen and he began preparing his meal, conversing with her as he did so. Her name was Grace Clark and she had owned the diner for over forty years, having opened it with her husband in their youth. He was now long dead, the unfortunate victim of a thomas stampede, but she had kept the diner and continued running it, much to the irritation of her daughter and son, who both believed that she deserved a well-earned retirement.

When the conversation turned to him and his personal affairs, Vash kept detail to a minimum, omitting his 'title' and only saying that he was searching for his brother who had disappeared a few years back. At this, Grace gave him a comforting pat on the back, assuring him that he would find his brother soon, that he was 'such a nice boy' and good things came to people like him. Vash smiled at her and thanked her, painfully hiding his inner emotional turmoil. _If good things come to those like me, then why am I always surrounded by torment and death?_ He quietly mourned for those who were lost while he hid behind a tall mound of food, stuffing his face to mask the grief painted there.

As he was finishing his meal and beginning to clean up, he heard the front door of the diner moan as someone entered. Grace looked up sharply and a small grimace crossed her face. "The lunch crowd. Oh, why did Terrance have to quit in the middle of the day?" she stood from where she had been sitting across from Vash at the small table in the kitchen and walked toward the swinging door, saying, "Just give me a moment, Vash. I need to tell them there's no lunch today."

"Just a minute!" Vash stood up hurriedly, wiping off his face with a cloth napkin. "From what I gather, lunch is the only time you really get any business. No offense, but from the looks of the diner, you need all the business you can get. How about I cook for you today?" he grinned at her.

"I can't ask you to do that!" she exclaimed.

"You're not asking, Grace. I'm offering. How about it'll be payment for my lunch. I did eat a lot." She opened her mouth to protest further and he cut her off. "I insist!"

She stood speechless for moment but then calls from the waiting customers seemed to shock her back to life. "Thank you," she smiled at him, tears in her eyes. He nodded gently and she walked through the swinging door to greet the hungry townspeople.

Vash soon discovered how hard the job of a cook was and just how hot a kitchen could get. Within the first fifteen minutes of cooking the hot lunches and shuffling quickly around the kitchen in an effort to be as efficient as possible, he had shed his heavy red coat in favor of the white shirt that he had on underneath it and was made of a more breathable material. Shortly thereafter though he found that not even that was adequate to keep him cool and so he went questing along the back wall of the diner. To his delight, he found a door there that he could open to let in air to cool him as he cooked.

When the lunch crowd finally dissipated, Vash thankfully collapsed in a booth and laid his head on the table's cool surface. "Whew! I never knew so much food could be made so fast!" he exclaimed as Grace poured him a glass of water.

"Thanks again for helping me," she said, smiling gratefully as she handed him the water.

He took a long gulp of the cool water before replying. "No problem! It was my pleasure."

"So you will be leaving now to continue your search for your brother?"

Vash nodded, his smile sad. "Yeah, I can't give up on him now. I've been looking for ten years and I'm not stopping at this point. And I owe it to the girl…"

"A girl? What girl?"

"He had a little girl with him when he left," Vash answered, leaving out how Knives had obtained her into his company. "She was five years old. Her name was Yume."

"Ten years ago, you say?" Grace was looking at the far wall, almost as though she was lost in thought… or memory.

"Do you know anything?" Vash stood up, his exhaustion forgotten and he stared at the old woman with a face full of renewed hope. "Tell me everything. Please."

"Yes, yes. Of course. About ten years ago a man and a girl came here. She introduced them as Yume and 'Knives-sama.' He said he had no money and so he told me to only give the girl water. I became quite fond of the little girl though, she was so sweet, and so I gave her a free meal. I would have also given him one but he declined the offer. He acted offended, as though the thought of eating food was foreign and detestable. He told me they were heading to the town of Gorge. It's not too far from here, as you probably already know."

The gray-haired woman looked up at Vash, peering closely at his face. "I thought you looked familiar. He looks just like you, you know." She shook her head then, "Except for your eyes. They're so different. Yours are warm, kind. His were cold, sharp. Like ice." Grace smiled then. "Sorry, forgive my rambling. I'm old and sometimes my mouth runs off by itself."

"Thank you so much," Vash said to her with tears in his eyes. "This is the best thing I've heard in… so long."

"It's the least I could do for you. You're such a nice young man," Vash could not help but smile through his tears when he heard her call him 'young,' "I hope you find him."

"Oh, I will. I most definitely will." He put his sunglasses on, pushing them up the bridge of his nose, and his face settled in to a determined expression as he slipped his coat on.

"Will he be happy to see you?" she inquired curiously.

"Well, actually, I have no idea." He shrugged. "I guess I'll find out when I see him." Vash nodded to the old woman and expressed his thanks once more.

"Just give that little girl a hug for me when you see her, all right?" Grace handed him a brown paper bag and when Vash looked inside, he was greeted by a half a dozen sandwiches and a small bundle of cookies.

He nodded, saying, "I will. I promise," and then walked out of the diner, his red coat twisting and dancing around his legs as he began the last part of his ten year journey.

Grace watched him go until he was far out of sight and then turned, looking over her empty diner. An irregular object caught her eye and she stared at the booth in which Vash had sat. There on the table was a wad of money. She picked it up, tears coursing down her cheeks, and whispered, "Such a nice boy… what would we do without people like him?" She turned to look at the distant horizon into which the Plant had disappeared. "Bless you, Vash. Good things come to those like you. Just be patient."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I dunno how this one turned out… I feel it's kind of lacking in some areas, but hey! My beta-reader, Kyoko-sama, said she liked it and what Kyoko-sama says is truth. ^_^ So, here it is. The chapter title is the only thing I could come up with but I guess it's not that bad. This chapter took a little longer to write than I expected and it's kinda short and I'm sorry about both of those things but at least I got it out quicker than the last one, right? ^^;; Well, I would say more but it's late at night and I'm _really_ tired so, I hoped you enjoyed it and don't forget to review!


	18. Time Can Change Even Dreams

**Time Can Change Even Dreams**

Yume skipped happily down the open streets of the town of Gorge, drinking in the beautiful, warm sunny day and the freedom granted by youth. She waved to the residents of the town as she passed them by, calling out greetings and wishing them all a good day. Her well wishes were returned with just as much exuberance as all the townspeople liked the girl quite a great deal. With a springing leap, she jumped onto the back of her thomas and stood there for a moment, teetering precariously. Then she hopped to the steps of the general store and swung the door wide, barging in with a tinkling laugh at the surprised expression captured on the store clerk's face.

Over the past years, she had grown into a fine young woman, her figure beginning to round out as puberty coursed its wild way through her veins although it did not promise her much in the way of development. However, such petty things did not concern this girl for she was too enamored with the world and all its wonders to care about those kinds of little details. Unconsciously, she took every day as an opportunity to learn more about the people around her and the events that affected her life, reveling in the little things that make a person's life so enjoyable. Her large brown eyes pleaded with people to talk to her and tell her things that they normally would not tell to one her age but for a reason that they could not exactly pin down (her empathic powers) she could understand completely how they felt and form a strong rapport with them.

The store clerk smiled at her antics and moved out from behind the counter to help her up from the giggling mass of girl that she had melted into. "Having a lot of fun, Yu?" he asked her as he extended a hand to grasp her own. He was a tall, gangly boy by the name of Rance, no older than eighteen. His head was crowned with a shock of golden hair and he had a pair of expressive, green eyes that seemed to bore into a person's soul. He was also mildly infatuated with Yume. She was intrigued by him slightly as his kind heart, gentle ways and even how he looked reminded her of someone that she had once known but she was unaware of his affections toward her. He would have asked her to be his girlfriend a long time ago except for the two tall, daunting barriers of her father and uncle, two men with which Rance wanted no contact whatsoever. Instinctively, he knew that if he dared to ask the girl out on even one date, he would soon have both of the creepy men breathing down his neck and most likely digging a grave for his future occupation.

"Of course!" She grinned up at him and grabbed his hand, using him as a counterweight to catapult herself to her feet where she proceeded to dance around, waving a piece of paper above her head happily.

Rance chuckled and grabbed the list from her hand, glancing over the groceries. "I think you're in luck today, girl. We've got all of your items in stock."

"That's so great, Rance! Uncle Legs will be so happy! Whenever we run out of hotdogs, he gets in such a bad mood! It's scary!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"He's always scary," Rance commented as he browsed through the isle of the general store, putting the listed items in a large bag for the girl. She was trailing behind him, talking animatedly.

"Awh, that's not nice! Yeah, he can get really angry sometimes but that's just when he's grumpy! Like, early in the morning, or when he's hungry, or late at night, or-"

"All the time," Rance finished for her teasingly. She mock glared at him and stuck her tongue out. He raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't really flatter you much, Yu."

She wrinkled her nose and ignored his statement, saying instead, "Is that all of it?"

He nodded and moved back through the store and to his cash register where he rung up all the items. "Your total is twenty-three double dollars and fifty-four cents," he announced in his official voice he used when conducting business with most other customers.

Yume pulled out a small wad of money and handed twenty-four double dollars to Rance. He tucked the bills away and gave her back her change and the bag. "Any chance you'll need help carrying that bag home?" he asked hopefully.

She gave him a funny look and said, "No, silly. I have my thomas. That and the fact that you can't leave the store unattended!" She moved as if to leave the store.

"But I never get to see you!" Rance said hurriedly, wondering where he was going with this.

Yume cocked her head to one side. "So, are you saying you'd like me to come visit you sometime?"

Rance felt his face begin to redden and his vocal cords fail. In a strangled tone, he said, "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

"Well, then why didn't you ask me straight out?" She rolled her eyes in a way that was both exasperated, but didn't hurt his feelings. "I like spending time with you!"

"Uh, I was thinking more of… a different way…" He struggled to find words to convey what he wanted to say.

"Like on a date?"

"Um…" The inquiring expression on her face was so cute that Rance thought he would die from blushing before he was able to say anymore. He gasped deeply, wishing that he didn't feel like he was suffocating, and hurriedly said, "Yeah. There's that monthly town dance tomorrow and, well, I was thinking you and me could go. It's not formal at all so you don't have to wear a dress or anything and I would really love it if you could come because I've wanted to take you for the past couple months but I've just not been able to ask you so, could you?" It all came flooding out and before he could stop himself, he had spilled his guts to her and asked her to the dance. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the blunt rejection to come barreling down.

Finally, when he didn't hear anything, he squinted open an eye and was surprised to see her standing there with the biggest grin spread across her face that he had ever seen on her. "Wow, Rance! Really? I've wanted to go to that dance so bad! I thought you'd never ask! Of course I'll go!"

Rance was stunned to say the least.  "Seriously? This is so great!" Then he remembered. "What about your dad though? Will he let you?"

"Of course he will!"

"Are you sure? He seems kind of, uh," Rance looked for a good word, "wary of any guys that show an interest in you."

"Awh, he's just worried about me. He's a really nice guy though! You just gotta get to know him." She smiled at him and Rance thought to himself, _Get used to him, yeah, right,_ but smiled back anyway.

Yume could hardly sit still in the saddle as she rode home with the bag of groceries. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to go to the dance! And with Rance too! She felt like she had a million lightning bolts running through her body, just begging her to move around, dance, run, just do something! The teenager started giggling uncontrollably, overcome by the heady rush young people feel when they finally enter into a relationship long sought after.

As she neared the path that led down to her home, Yume pulled the thomas to a stop. She dismounted and let the beast into its corral, taking off its tack beforehand. Checking to make sure it had enough water and food for the night, she felt a presence behind her and she turned to greet the man cheerfully, "Hi, Uncle Legs!"

Legato stared at her flatly, his eyes betraying nothing but his irritation. Yume ignored this and inquired as to how his day had been. Still he merely did nothing but watch her with his burning golden eyes. And yet the girl persisted, asking, "Were you standing up there thinking again?"

He disregarded her question and instead asked one of his own, "What puts you in such a good mood, girl?"

She grinned. "Nothing!"

"Yes, I'm sure that it is 'nothing,' certainly nothing that would excite me to the degree that you have become. But what is this nothing?" He resisted the urge to try to exert mental force to make her tell him, knowing that it would be completely unsuccessful.  She just continued to smile at him and then turned and skipped down the path to give the groceries to Knives.

Legato grimaced to no one in particular, his face expressing for him the words that he didn't bother to utter aloud: Why do I even try? He then turned and followed the girl down the path on the rock face, pondering what might have piqued her so and wondering how he could ruin what was left of her day.

"Hi Knives-sama!" Yume bounced up to the tall Plant and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Legato slowly walked through the cavern's entrance behind her and watched her happy assault on his master with an impassive expression that barely concealed his boiling rage.

"Hello, girl." Knives smiled at the young teenager. "From your pleased demeanor, I take it that you had a good day."

"The best!" She grinned and let go of his waist. She then picked up the bag of groceries that she had dropped and moved over to their little solar-powered refrigerator. Because they lived so close to the nearby town and Knives did not partake of any food, it was kept minimally supplied with only enough to feed Legato and Yume for a couple days at a time. Humming, she started stocking it with items from the bag while putting the regular, shelf-stored foods on top of the small fridge.

"What do you want to eat tonight, Uncle Legs?" Yume chirped from where she was crouched in front of the refrigeration unit. "We have lots of stuff! We could have sandwiches, hot dogs, chili, soup… what do you want to eat?" She glanced over her shoulder at him questioningly.

"You decide. I find that I have lost most of my appetite," he grumbled. Inside he was berating himself on allowing the child, a mere individual of fifteen years of age, to get under his skin.

"Are you feeling sick?" Yume closed the refrigerator's door and stood, looking at him with a worried expression. "I could make chicken noodle soup if you're not feeling well." Although most humans had no idea what chicken was anymore, a noodle soup bearing that name was a planet wide recommended remedy for almost any illness.

"No," Legato declined abruptly and with a grimace. He had come to dread the child's home cooking, seeing as she was convinced she had talent in the area when, in fact, she had none whatsoever.

"Well, if you would be a little more helpful with more precise input, I could make something that you would actually like!" Yume exploded with a snarl, striding across the cavern to stand in front of Legato, her eyes blazing with dignified rage.

Legato blinked, startled, and took a step back from the intimidating girl. His anger having faded by her sudden confrontation, Yume felt her own snuff out of existence, like a candle that had run out of oxygen. She looked confused for a moment and she quickly retreated back to the refrigerator, muttering quietly about how she would just make sandwiches and she hoped Legato would feel better soon.

Knives was taken aback by the sudden change, although he had seen her have similar episodes before. The Plant had heard somewhat about how moody teenage females could be but he had never given the stories any credit until he had witnessed Yume's sudden emotional transformations. He shrugged it off and sat down in his chair, returning to the paper he had been reading. It was a recent documentation of all the plants on the planet and their average power outputs, downtimes, and other information. The annual report was mainly used as a reference material for biological engineers but Knives obtained a copy of the publication each time its information was renewed to keep himself up-to-date on his bulb-bound siblings' status.

Yume finished making the sandwiches shortly and she brought two to the table where Legato was seated. He gave her the barest of nods to acknowledge her effort, Knives would have angrily protested if he had not, and then began eating. Yume took a seat across from him and took a bite out of her own sandwich, her mood having returned to its former cheerful state.

Legato was quite preoccupied with his mastication but he felt a tingling in his mind as a familiar presence entered into the fifty ile radius that he monitored. He looked up, his face registering shock and another, deeper emotion. Yume noticed the sudden change and put down her sandwich, staring at him with a puzzled expression. "Uncle Legs? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Knives looked up from the report he was reading with a smile. "I believe that my minion has just noticed that a certain someone is heading this way."

"You have been aware of Vash the Stampede's activities, Master?" Legato asked as he stood up from his seat, feeling slightly hurt that Knives had not cared to share this information with him although he knew better than to expect his Master to confide in a lowly spider such as he.

"Yes, for quite some time now I have known that he has been steadily moving towards us. I did not feel that you needed to know until he had reached this point. I also knew that you keep continuous surveillance on all beings in our immediate vicinity and so would find out of his movements soon enough." Yume sat silently, watching the events unfolding around her while she desperately tried to understand what was happening.

Legato bowed his head and took on a subservient posture, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Would you like me to go and greet him, Master?"

Knives nodded, his smile taking on a cold edge. "Yes, please do. I'm sure he'll be quite surprised to see you."

Legato straightened and strode out of the cavern and Yume was suddenly filled with a pleased feeling, as though a goal she had strived for a lifetime to accomplish had just been handed to her on a silver platter with all her favorite toppings on the side. She stood and moved to go after him, to ask who he was going to greet and why it made him so happy, but Knives held out a hand and motioned for her to stay.

"Who's Legato going to see, Knives-sama? You said the name 'Vash the Stampede.' Wasn't he that man that there was a bounty for a while ago? And he caused all those disasters?" Yume waited for an answer but Knives merely sat, absorbed in the thoughts that coursed through his mind. Yume walked over to stand by his chair and picked up his hand to hold it between hers, giving him a pleading look. "Please tell me what's happening, Knives-sama. I'm so confused."

"Vash the Stampede is coming here," Knives stated.

"He's a dangerous person though! He could kill us!" Yume protested. "We should leave before we get hurt!" Her eyes then took on a panicked look. "Legato's going to see him! We have to stop him!" She turned to run after the blue-haired human but Knives held onto one of her hands, keeping her from leaving. She looked at him, her expression pained and bewildered.

"He knows," Knives said simply.

"Then why…"

"Because it's what he wants."

"I don't understand…"

"I didn't expect you to. Fathoming the inner workings and motivations of the human mind is a task that few are capable of carrying out and being able to comprehend the results."

"Will Legato be okay?" she asked, biting her lip to stop its trembling. "He's coming back, right?"

Knives stared at her blankly for a moment, formulating his answer, and then slowly said in the tenderest tone he had ever used in his life, "I'll not lie to you, girl. No. He's not coming back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well… I wanted a better chapter title but this one will have to do for now. But other than that I thought this chapter turned out damn fine! ^0^ I like the ending. It was a sudden inspiration for me. I was sitting there trying to think of how Knives should tell her and how she should react and then I was like, "Wait! Why even show her react? It's more powerful if I don't show it! CLIFFIE TIME!!" *lol* Don't kill me though… you'll not get to see the end if you kill me! ^^;;

Yume: I don't want Uncle Legs to die… *sniffles* He's the best…

Jeril: Um… *notices Yume's really short for a teenager* Aren't you supposed to be fifteen?

Yume: That's the fic Yume. Not me! I got stuck in a time warp!

Jeril: *starts humming* _But it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane! Let's do the Time Warp again!_ *coughs and recovers self* Oh… well, that's good. I don't want you being my age. That'd make things weird. *nibbles on a chocolate bunny left over from Easter* Only one or two chapters left!! How sad… Probably two. I think things might fit weird if I tried to cram it all into one. Oh, and **I made a livejournal **to help keep you all informed as to how my progress goes with how much I'm done with chapters and planning fics and stuff! The link's on my profile so bookmark it and check it often. (I decided the website wasn't working for me.) Well… *yawn* it's a bit after 1 AM and I'm really tired and it's past this little one's bedtime. (I wanted to get this chapter done so I stayed up late and in getting it out at this early morning hour, it was not beta-ed, but I think I got all my errors…) So, we'll be dashing off now. Hope you liked the chapter! Until next time, byyyye!!

Yume: And review! We like reading the reviews!

Jeril: Yup, reviews are good, but so is sleep! *tackles Yume and drags her away*


	19. And the Dead Shall Walk the Earth

**And the Dead Shall Walk the Earth**

Vash stood on the edge of the gorge, staring down at its bottom far below and he wondered if he would have to jump. He quickly looked around, his eyes furiously searching for an alternate means to reach the bottom. He noticed a rope ladder tied to a large, misshapen boulder and moved towards the ladder to inspect its condition. It looked as if it had been recently replaced as the wooden rungs had a polished look to them and were in fairly good condition. The rope also had a fresh look to it and had no frayed parts from what Vash could see.

"This better not break on me," Vash muttered and began his descent. To his great relief, the rope ladder held his weight for the duration of his short downward journey and he was quite happy when his feet touched down on solid rock.

He crossed the small breadth of the canyon's floor, stepping over a small stream that ran through its center. Looking over the wall of the gorge, he saw another rope ladder and walked over to where it hung down to touch the bottom. He inspected it and noticed it was in almost the same pristine condition as the other ladder. Vash idly wondered who took care of the ladders as he absentmindedly pushed his sunglasses up his nose with his middle finger. There was a rope bridge spanning the canyon merely two iles southward. Who used these ladders? Why not use the bridge? Although he asked these questions, he felt that he already knew their answers.

_I've almost caught up with you Knives, haven't I?_ Vash reflected, feeling a sense of sadness well up from deep inside of his soul. Would he ever be free of this? Would this be the last time that he would have to chase Knives over Gunsmoke's surface? Was the girl, Yume, still alive? What was Meryl doing right now? Was she thinking about him? Or had she given up and moved on?

Fighting despair, he pushed the feelings down, berating himself harshly as he angrily started climbing up the rope ladder. In fact, he was so absorbed in scolding himself that he almost did not hear the rope begin to complain quietly as he neared the top of the canyon wall.

His heart skipped a precious beat as he heard the loud _snap_ and he frantically reached for the rock's edge right above his head. He grabbed it firmly as the rope ladder fell away beneath him, his blood rushing through his head and pounding in his ears as fright took an even firmer grip on his heart. He cursed his heavy red coat while his feet fought for purchase on the side of the canyon. Gasping, he thanked any deity that happened to be paying attention for the fact that the wall had a few footholds in the place where he was hanging precariously.

With a last few choice words snarled out through gritted teeth, Vash heaved himself over the canyon's edge and lay there, breathing heavily. He reached out with a hand weakened and trembling with shock and grabbed the end of one of the ropes that were attached to an iron ring driven into the rock ground. The woven rope was cut cleanly through, only leaving three strands to bear the weight of whoever decided to climb up its deadly ladder. Vash's face took on a solemn bearing and he found no doubt in his mind of who had placed that ladder there.

Shakily, he got to his feet and took a few deep breaths to bring his heart back to an ordinary pace. As he did this, he felt out with his mind, tentatively searching for the person he knew dwelled nearby and the one that he hoped had survived. He wiped a film of sweat from his brow and sighed in relief as he located both of them quite close to his current location. His long quest was nearly complete.

Then he felt a moment of confusion as he noticed a familiar presence nearby, emanating from within the nearby town. "No… it couldn't be…" he whispered, feeling the blood draining from his face and his knees threatening to give way. "He's dead… I killed him… he's dead! He's_ dead!_" He choked on the last word, a whirlwind of emotions ripping through his body and threatening to drag him to the bottom of a sea from which he would find no easy return. He almost gave in to the pull, knowing that he would find a kind of numb peace within that sea, but Vash's inner voice warned him that if _he _truly was still among the living, than innocent people were no doubt suffering at that moment and only he could save them.

Vash turned from the direction that Knives lay in and started running towards the nearby town. _I'm coming for you, Legato._ His inner voice was filled with venom as he threw them towards his old enemy. _And this time you're gonna stay dead._

Vash walked through the streets of the deserted town, his spine tingling with the knowledge that his brother's minion was close. He was slightly puzzled by the empty streets, seeing as how he had felt the presence of so many people earlier, but he shrugged that feeling off. They were here. He knew it. He just had to find them. To find Legato, he had to find them first.

He found the answer to the missing townsfolk when he entered the town center and saw the people grouped there. The women and children were lying face down on the ground, their hands on their heads, while above them stood the men of the town, holding two guns, one pointed at a victim in front of them, and the other pushing hard against their own temples. In front of the men, and between them and Vash, stood Legato. Vash noticed the wrinkles around his eyes and his whitish-blue hair, glinting in the late afternoon sun and felt slightly pleased at Legato's inability to escape the aging process. The human smiled at Vash, a cruel edge playing over his lips. "Welcome, Vash the Stampede." The townspeople's eyes widened and they stared at Vash with fear in their eyes, although Vash could see a glimmer of a desperate hope that this famed criminal might suddenly have a change of heart and decide to help them.

Vash looked back at Legato and felt his mind wrestle through molasses with the sight of the man he had long believed to be dead as he struggled for a few moments to find his power of speech. "Legato…" he choked out the man's name, as though he was really choking on the truth that the man was still alive. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Yes. I suppose that is a valid question. Although I would have thought you would have been more interested in the fact that I am capable of doing anything." Legato continued to smile coldly at Vash while inside his head, he could hear the man's answer. _I am proving to you, once and for all, that humans deserve nothing but pain, suffering, and death._

Legato turned away and approached one of the men. "You. I have a proposition for you." The man looked frightened and Vash would have been worried if he had not been. In fact, Vash would have bet money that the man would have ran away if he could have, but Legato was holding him in place with his mental powers. Legato spoke again, his silky voice tempting the human with a poisoned apple, "I offer you a choice between two deaths. Yours or his." He nodded in the direction that Vash stood.

"What?" the man looked startled.

"Either you kill him or I will kill you," Legato stated simply.

The blonde-haired Plant felt his stomach roil and he wondered which side of the deal the man would take. To kill or to be killed? In hypothetical situations, many would answer they would gladly die instead of take the life of another, but when the situation became reality, the decision became more difficult and the answer was not as readily reached. The man looked torn between the two choices. No one wants to die but many people believe that no one has the right to destroy another's life. Vash wistfully recalled Rem's words and hoped that this man adhered to that belief.

"Listen, you don't need to kill me," Vash pleaded. "Just trust me and I'll get you all out of this and no one needs to get killed."

_Be silent, Vash the Stampede,_ Legato reprimanded him, _Let the spider make his own decision._

Finally, the man's jaw set firmly in place and he said in a voice that shook, but was filled with conviction, "No. I'll not kill that man. He's done nothing to me." He spit on the ground at Legato's feet. "Do your own dirty work."

Legato stared at the man with a serene gaze. Then he murmured in a quiet voice that hinted at sarcasm, "What a pity." The man's eyes widened in shock as he felt his finger involuntary squeeze on the trigger of the gun to his head and a sharp report echoed through the town as he dropped to the ground, dead. The woman in front of him screamed in fright and backed away from the dead body as she continued to howl in fear.

Legato looked sharply at the woman in annoyance and her screams were silenced immediately when she picked up the dead man's gun. Satisfied, Legato turned to the man who had stood to the left of the dead man. "And your answer?" he queried the man.

The second man stared at his dead companion and took a steadying breath. "We all knew you was trouble the day you first showed up around here. Go back to Hell." Another gun cracked and his body fell to the earth, never to rise again. The child who had been in front of him merely lay still and silent, probably both from shock and having seen what had happened to the woman who had began screaming.

This time, the one who stood next to the dead man was a young man of about eighteen years of age. Vash looked at the human and realized that his face looked quite similar to Vash's own. Legato smirked, having recognized the similarities also. "How will you answer, boy?"

The young man looked at the woman at his feet and Vash could tell from the way he stared at her that they were related. The boy looked around frantically, as if he believed he could find a way to escape, but then slumped, defeated, as he realized that there was only one way he could leave this situation. "I'll do it," he said in a quiet voice.

Vash felt his heart skip a beat as the boy spoke those words and he quietly wondered if he could dodge the bullet when the boy shot at him. He sighed, disappointed that one so young would have the rest of his life warped by this day. "What's your name?" he said in a tired voice that reflected the feelings of his mournful heart.

"What?" the young man looked surprised and his hand slowly began dropping away from his head, the gun's barrel free to be pointed at a new target: Vash.

"I think I should at least know the name of the person who is going to be my murderer." Vash saw the boy wince and look down at the ground, not daring to meet the eyes of the man whose life he was going to end.

Legato smiled. "Go on and tell him your name, boy." The blonde man refused to look up from the ground and the gun he held pointed toward the ground trembled in an unsteady grip. Legato chuckled, obviously quite amused by the human's antics. "His name is Rance," he told Vash and the young man looked up in shock.

"How do you know my name?" he demanded weakly, his voice now trembling as much as his freed hand.

"With the same powers that I have been using to hold you and your dear family and friends in place, foolish boy," Legato growled. "Or did you fail to notice that you are all under my absolute control?"

"Sorry, sir." Rance looked back to his feet once more.

"Just kill him and I'll set you and the rest of the denizens of this town free with a promise not to harm any of you… for now." Legato stared at Vash, grinning with confidence. _I've won, Vash the Stampede. You will never again cause my Master pain. He will be free of you forever, as will I. How does your defeat taste, Vash the Stampede? I know how my victory shall taste, for I plan to celebrate with a large ice cream sundae with all the topping available, something you shall never be able to experience again!_

About halfway through Legato's triumphant tirade, Vash had stopped staring at the blue-haired human and instead had moved his gaze to rest on Rance, who was taking aim with the gun in his hand. Vash began to tense his muscles as he prepared to dodge the bullet but then he felt Legato's strong psychic grip surround him. A sudden icy sensation gripped his soul as he realized that although Legato couldn't hold him in place, he would slow the Plant's reactions down and Vash would not be able to move fast enough to dodge the speeding projectile. Feeling a sense of helplessness overwhelm his body, he watched with a calm expression as Rance began to pull the trigger, determined that even if he would not survive, he would not go down without trying to.

Then he saw the young man pull the trigger fully with a twitch of his hand and the loud explosion ripped through the town as Vash moved awkwardly to the side in his attempt to dodge the bullet but as he had expected, his reaction was hampered by Legato's efforts to slow him down. Reflexively, he reached for his chest after the shot was fired, expecting there to be an eruption of blood from his chest, followed by his veins turning to lava and burning him alive with pain. Amazingly, he felt nothing and he felt his chest in surprise, checking for wounds of which he found none. He looked up, wondering if Rance would fire another shot, when he saw the teenager staring at the fallen Legato.

Vash felt his knees grow weak with shock as he realized that somehow the boy had been able to shoot Legato instead of him. Legato must have been so distracted gloating over his victory and making sure Vash would be an easy target that he had not been paying attention to the boy's thoughts. The Plant felt tears touch the corners of his green eyes and as he stumbled over to Legato's body, he wondered why he was crying. He should be glad the man was dead. After all the suffering and death that he had inflicted on others, death was all that he deserved. But Vash suspected that some part of his heart had still believed that Legato could be changed and made to see that Knives was wrong.

"He's dead?" Vash whispered, staring at the fallen man as he stood in a circle of townspeople around Legato.

An older man knelt by the prone body and put his hand to Legato's neck and was silent for a moment. He stood with a disgusted look on his face. "Nope, the bastard's got a pulse. Shoot 'em again."

Rance looked pale and withdrawn but he diligently lifted the gun to finish Legato off. "No!" Vash said sharply, elbowing past a few people to stand by Rance. "No," he repeated, "I'll do it."

Rance looked relieved. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're too young. You shouldn't have to live with something this horrible for the rest of your life." Vash took the gun from the boy and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Besides, this is something I should have done a long time ago. Now's my time to make up for it."

Vash took a step forward and the townspeople backed up, giving him room to commit the deed and also giving themselves room to run as they remembered that he was Vash the Stampede and might decided to kill them along with Legato. He took aim at the prone man and breathed deeply. He was about to kill a man. And kill a man in cold blood. For some reason, the concept did not disturb him as it once would have. The last ten years had changed him as it had changed the man lying at his feet. What if he didn't kill Legato? Could Legato come to understand and accept Vash's view of the humans? Could he still kill Legato knowing that this was possibilities?

_Vash the Stampede…_Legato's voice echoed through Vash's mind and he could hear in the man's tone a sense of exhaustion that stretched for years._ I told you once before that an egotistical being like myself cannot be allowed to live. I repeat these words to you now: Give me nothingness. Give me death. You attempted to give me these things that I desire once before and you failed. Now I ask you to try once more. My Master no longer requires my services. I lived beyond what was expected and now it is my time to pass on. Vash… grant me this one last wish._

The trigger was squeezed and the gun fired, a loud, final report assaulting the ears of those present. From a numb hand, the gun fell to the ground and it was followed by a man who collapsed over the body in front of him, tears pouring unrestrained from his weary eyes. And around him stood a group of strangers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ehehehe. ^^;; I hope that turned out okay. Legato quoted himself from the Pioneer subtitles because that is what I own, or more, have illegal copies of. *gasps* But don't tell them that!! I liked that last paragraph though! I wanted to do it in a disconnected way so I think it turned out good. And I want to get this done on tomorrow, but I don't think that's happening. . But I'll try! And if it's not done on the 4th, which is its one year anniversary by the way, it'll be done really soon!!

Anyway, it's almost midnight so I've gotta be going to bed, you know?

Remember to check my **livejournal** for updates about progress and stuff and for information about new fanfics!!

_And if you have any ideas for an EPILOGUE, go there and leave a comment about it!! You're not supposed to do it in reviews, so do it on my livejournal!! I want to do one, but I have no ideas!! So help me out!!_ _^_^_


	20. The Final Confrontation

**The Final Confrontation**

Vash treaded slowly away from the town and towards the canyon. He knew Knives and Yume were waiting for him in the cavern-like structure that they had been living in for the past decade and they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon so he was taking his time in getting there. After Legato's death, he found he suddenly had a lot to think about.

Legato's death… Was it really possible that he was dead? After dodging death the last time, a part of Vash felt Legato Bluesummers could never die. That he had somehow become immortal. But his mind told him Legato was truly dead this time. Vash had even buried him, laying his cold body to rest in the warm desert sands. He felt his brother's servant deserved at least a proper burial. Why? Vash didn't know. Perhaps it was because everyone deserved that dignity. Maybe he was apologizing for treating Legato without that basic human respect ten years ago.

Whatever the reason was, he had buried Legato Bluesummers as he would have buried any of his dear friends had they rather been the ones who died.

With a wistful air, Vash wondered how Knives would react to seeing him. It had been a little over ten years since they had last seen each other. Had he changed? Had Yume? Vash couldn't help but smile at the thought of the girl. He doubted she had changed much since the day they first met. She struck him as the kind of child whose enthusiasm would carry on into her adult life without losing much steam along the way.

But how would her developing mind react to growing up around Knives? Had he shaped her into his own image? Was he still convinced that the child was a Plant? Vash remembered when he had overheard Knives instructing Yume on the evils of humanity and he hoped that she had not adopted Knives' views as her own.

Too soon, Vash found himself standing on the edge of the canyon, just mere feet away from where his brother was located. The blonde Plant looked down to the ground far below and took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come.

The moons of Gunsmoke were rising, one after the other, like shiny coins floating in a black sea. This caused the canyon to be lit with an ethereal light and Vash let the beauty of the moment cleanse him of the earlier horror he had been subjected to. He was so withdrawn into himself and his thoughts that he did not hear the approaching footsteps until it was too late.

"Attack!" he heard a suspiciously familiar voice cry out and someone lunged onto him, scrambling on his back for purchase before they looped their arms around his neck, effectively cutting off his air. He teetered on the edge of the canyon, thrown off-balance by his assailant, and he windmilled his arms wildly as he attempted to bring himself back onto solid ground. The person clinging to his back seemed to sense the danger that they were both in and so they leaned back, creating a counterweight while, at the same time, intensifying Vash's level of suffocation.

He clawed at the small arms' chokehold while fighting to dislodge the attacker, at the same time desperately trying to breathe. The small person brought their knee sharply into his kidney area and Vash nearly doubled over in pain. He wasn't exactly sure about his species' anatomy but whatever he had in that area, kidney or not, getting hit there hurt just as much for him as it would for a human.

He felt the attacker lean forward and, breathing heavily into his ear, a quiet, determined voice whispered sinisterly with a slight singsong quality to its tone, "Guess who!"

Vash felt the pieces click together in his oxygen-starved brain and he gasped out, "Yume?"

"Awh, you guessed…" The girl released her grip around Vash's throat and slid off his back. The Plant collapsed to his knees; gratefully sucking in long breaths of the air he had been denied. Yume watched him recover for a moment and stepped closer to him. "You okay?"

"Barely." Vash straightened and turned to face the girl. "Why the hell did you try to kill me like that?"

"Kill you?" Yume cocked her head to the side. "What're you talking about? I was just giving you a hug!!"

"That's some hug…" Vash rubbed his sore throat and glared at the girl.

"Wait… you're not Rance…" Yume stood up on her tiptoes and turned his face. "I know you though… you're… Donut-san?"

"Yeah, that's me. You thought I was Rance?" Vash was incredulous. "Do you how much older than him I am?" _Damn, I look good for my age!_

"Donut-san!" Yume jumped onto Vash again, this time hugging him tightly around his waist so hard that he would have sworn he could hear his ribs cracking.

"Watch out!" he called out as he teetered on the edge of the canyon once more. "You're gonna push us off!"

"Oops." Yume let go of Vash and helped him balance himself out. She grinned up at him. "Sorry. I'm just _so_ happy to see you! It's been forever!"

"Actually, it's been closer to ten years."

"Time doesn't matter!" Yume waved her hands in the air in defiance. "Now that we're here is all that counts! Speaking of which, what are you doing out here, Donut-san?" She looked at him questioningly.

"I've been looking for you, actually. You and Knives."

"Well, we should go see him now then!" She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the path that lead toward where Knives was waiting. "You see, there's this horrible outlaw who's coming this way, Vash the Stampede, and he'll kill us if he finds us! He's probably already killed Uncle Legs…" she sniffled loudly. "But Knives wants to see Vash the Stampede for some reason…"

"Yume, if, uh, Vash the Stampede is out and around here, then why did Knives let you out here? Isn't it dangerous because of this Vash the Stampede?" He felt strange and awkward talking about himself as if he were another person. He hadn't had to do that in a while, as most people believed he was dead and so he had lost the natural feel of the words.

"Well, you see… Knives-sama kinda, well, he fell asleep… so I snuck out!" She grinned up at him shyly, seeking approval for her small act of rebellion. Vash's brow creased. He doubted that. Knives probably was just pretending to be sleeping so Yume would leave to go meet up with Vash so she wouldn't have to learn that he was Vash the Stampede right away.

"Are you mad that I snuck out?" Yume asked hesitantly, letting go of Vash's hand. She had mistaken his expression as a reflection of disapproval. "I'm sorry… I just… I felt you near. And I thought you were someone else… and I wanted to say 'hello' and warn you about Vash the Stampede… I'm sorry if you're mad."

"I'm not mad, Yume, it's just-"

"You aren't? Yay!" She interrupted him, grabbing his hand and bounding forward, dragging him along after her.

Vash started rethinking his decision to go see his brother. It seemed he and Yume were doing well… maybe he could wait another decade…

"Knives-sama! I'm back!" Yume called out happily and Vash was startled to find they were at the entrance of the cavern that Yume had called 'home' for the past ten years. He had no idea what Knives and Legato had called it, probably 'headquarters' or some such nonsense.

"Who do you have with you, girl?" Vash heard a distinctive, familiar voice ask sharply, the tone as cutting as the ice blue eyes of the Plant who it belonged to.

"Guess!" Yume crowed, her excitement making her face glow in the combined moonlight and light from a gas lantern burning inside of the cave on a table.

"Vash the Stampede," Knives hissed, stepping out of the shadows beyond the reach of the gas lantern's light.

"Nope! You're wrong!"

"What?" Knives looked taken aback. "I'm never wrong, girl!"

"Well, you are this time! It's Donut-san!" Yume let go of Vash's hand and ran forward, triumphantly leaping up onto the table to do a victory dance around the gas lantern. "I win, I win!"

Knives shook his head. "Foolish child. How do I tell you this? _Newsflash!_" Vash stared at his brother in shock as the other Plant made twin starbursts on the side of his face with his hands to accentuate what he was saying. "The man you call 'Donut-san' is in actuality, Vash the Stampede!"

"What?" Yume was shocked.

"Knives? Is that really you?" Vash never could have believed his brother to stoop so low as to used the word 'newsflash.' The green-eyed Plant half-expected to see a pig fly by the cavern's entrance any moment. Or walk by, for that matter. Although the phrase 'when pigs fly' existed on Gunsmoke, the animals themselves did not.

"Of course it's me, Vash. Who else could it be?" Knives rolled his eyes. "Has ten more years among the human scum rubbed off on you this much? I never would have believed stupidity to be contagious..."

"Sounds like I'm not the only one whose been affected by living among humans," Vash countered. "Since when did the word 'newsflash' enter into your vocabulary?" Knives glared at Vash indignantly, not willing to admit his brother was right.

Yume jumped off the table. "Donut-san? Is that true? Are you really Vash the Stampede?"

A guilty look took over his features and he glanced apologetically at the teenage girl. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Yume. I thought you knew…"

"You lied to me!" Tears sprang into the girl's eyes and she rubbed at them furiously. "I trusted you!"

Vash laughed nervously. "Well, technically, I didn't deliberately lie to you... Did you ever ask me directly if I was Vash the Stampede?"

"Well, no… but that's still not fair!" She glared at him icily with an expression to match some of Knives' best.

"I haven't seen you in ten years! Give me a break!" Vash held up his hands in defense.

"Children!" Knives barked, "Settle down!"

"She started it!" Vash pointed an incriminating finger at Yume. Knives turned his ice blue eyes onto Vash and his twin immediately flushed, embarrassed at how he was acting. "Well, she did…" Vash muttered, scuffing a booted foot against the ground.

Knives moved forward and took a seat at the table. He gestured to the chair on the opposite side and Vash walked forward and grudgingly sat down. Knives stared at his brother from across the table for a moment before saying, "Vash, why have you come here?"

The question seemed to catch Vash by surprise but he quickly replied. "I had to check up on you. Make sure you weren't hurting anyone." Vash glanced at Yume pointedly. She had retreated after Knives' command to what Vash guessed was a kitchen area and from what he could see, she was fixing some food, staying out of their way while the twins argued.

"You were worried I would corrupt the child?" Knives looked amused.

"Yeah, I was. You were a little insane when I last saw you, talking like she was a Plant and how you were going to raise her to help you destroy humanity. Forgive me if I was worried in just the slightest bit," Vash said sarcastically.

"I do admit, I was acting somewhat out of character at that point in time. I came to my senses however when some…" He seemed to search for the right word for a moment, "_events_ transpired that confirmed the fact that she was indeed human."

"Such as?" Vash wondered.

"_Female_ things…" Knives cleared his throat, obviously deeply uncomfortable with that subject. "Anyway, as you can see, we are doing just fine without you so you can go now."

"What?" Vash was surprised. "No! I can't leave."

"Why not?" Knives looked at Vash curiously. "It's really quite simple, brother. Merely retrace your earlier steps."

"No, it's not that-"

"Then what is it?" Knives snapped. "What's so pressing that you cannot leave?" When no reply came, Knives sighed in exasperation. "What were you expecting to happen when you got here, Vash? A rematch?"

"Yeah. Actually, I kind of was."

"Is that what you want?"

"No, no!" Vash shook his head vehemently. "You know that's never been what I want."

"Then why did you come?"

Vash was silent for a moment. "Why did you send Legato out to meet me?"

"It was what he wanted," Vash's brother answered coolly. "His dying wish, you might say."

"You knew he wouldn't have lived though," Vash growled accusingly. "But you sent him anyway!"

"Yes. Does that disturb you, brother?"

"Not as much as it once would have…" _In fact, a great deal less, and I think that fact disturbs me even more._

"That's to be expected, Vash. You've had ten years to deal with the fact you killed him, even before you actually did. You've grown more accustomed to the darker side of people because you've been exposed to your own. It's natural that you don't oppose that idea as strongly as you would have when you first 'killed' him."

"But I killed him now, not then…"

"Vash, you managed to forgive yourself for it ten years ago. You can do that again now."

Vash changed the subject, uncomfortable with the side of himself he was being forced to face. "Knives, is this what you're going to do for the rest of… well, for a while?"

"What do you mean?" Knives looked slightly confused.

"Are you just going to live in this place with Yume for the next fifty years or more? You have to admit, it's kinda weird living in a cave." Vash grinned.

Knives fixed Vash with a frozen glare. "I did not choose our living accommodations, brother, and no, I am planning to relocate us soon."

Vash picked at the table with a fingernail. "Well, you want to, um, relocate to a location that's located, well, nearer to me?"

"You wish for me to live in a place closer to your own home? Why? So you can keep an eye on me?" Knives' tone was biting.

Vash winced. "Well, I'd be lying if I denied that, but I also miss you. I haven't seen you in ten years, Knives. We're brothers. We should stay in contact better than that."

Knives stared at Vash's fingers as he picked at the table, silent for a moment. Then he looked up and quietly said, "I'll consider it."

"Really?" Vash's eyes brightened as a grin lit up his face. "Meryl and Milly will be so happy to see you again!"

"Oh no! I will go nowhere near those two." Knives growled.

"But… Meryl…" Vash suddenly faltered.

"What about her?"

"We're, uh, kind of, uh…" Vash fell silent and looked back to the table as if he'd see the answer written there.

Knives' eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me that you two have entered into a relationship."

"Actually, no." Vash looked up at his brother. "We're past that point."

There was an awkward pause during which Vash became aware of Yume humming happily in the kitchen as she continued to prepare whatever food she was hungry for. Then, "What?"

"We got married." Vash couldn't suppress the idiotic grin that spread across his face and he took pleasure, though somewhat guiltily, from the shocked expression that was smeared across his brother's.

"You did no such thing!"

"Yes, we did."

"I won't allow it!"

"Knives. It's already happened."

"How dare that human female seduce you into such an act? I'm going to kill her."

"I won't let you."

Knives glared at him. "And who says you can stop me?"

"The fact that I've kicked your ass once before and I could do it again." Vash smiled smugly slightly.

"That doesn't count," Knives said sullenly. "You cheated."

"Oh, is that so?" Vash raised an eyebrow. "And who had both of the guns at the time? I think that could be considered cheating."

"I got yours away from you fair and square! The Cross Punisher, however, was never part of the fight until you brought it in!"

"Knives, just admit it. I beat you."

"I will not admit what's not true."

"Fine." Vash shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The two sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, Knives eyeing his brother with a sulky expression.

Vash cleared his throat. "So, you'll come live by me?"

"Fine, since it seems to mean so much to you, I will." Knives gave his brother a surly look. "Happy now?"

Vash grinned. "Yeah, actually. Very." He couldn't believe it was all about to end. Everything that had been set in motion since the day that Knives engineered Project SEEDS crash was about to come to a final point of closure.

Yume bounced up, setting a plate of sandwiches on the table. "I come bearing gifts!"

"You are not going to enjoy my living in close proximity to you," Knives warned as his brother picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite.

"Oh, I think not." Vash swallowed the bite and smiled at Yume. "This is great!"

Yume looked faintly shocked. "We're moving?"

Knives looked over at her. "So it would seem."

"Oh…" her expression wilted.

"What's wrong?" Vash asked, concerned.

"Well, I was kind of hoping we could stick around for a bit…" she stood, shifting her weight from one foot to another nervously.

"And why is that?" Knives eyed the girl coolly.

"Well, there's this dance in town and Rance asked me to go with him." She grinned.

Knives stared at Yume quietly while Vash smiled, exclaiming, "That's so great, Yume! He's a nice guy. Isn't that great, Knives?"

Muscles in Knives' jaw flexed visibly as he gritted his teeth. He slowly asked in a testy tone, "Where does this 'Rance' live?"

Yume glanced at Knives suspiciously. "Why do you want to know, Knives-sama?"

"I'm going to go pay him a visit. I'd like to speak with this human."

Yume stared at Knives for a moment and then cracked up laughing. "Knives-sama! You're so silly!"

"I'm anything but that, girl, now tell me where he lives," Knives growled.

"Well, I don't care what you think, Knives-sama! You're still silly!" Yume poked his forehead with a finger and skipped off happily.

"Come back here, girl! I'm not done with you!" Knives roared, standing up from the table and storming after her. "I'm going to get that boy's location from you if I have to hang you up by your toes to persuade you to tell me it!"

Vash chuckled as he watched his brother go. Yeah, everything he knew might have just ended. But now it seemed that something much more interesting was finally beginning and Vash couldn't wait to see what the future held in store.

**THE END**

**.**

**.**

**.**

****

****

_Final Rants, Raves, Thanks and Such:_

It's over! XD It's finally over. Wow. Crazy. It all seems so surreal. But it's not! XD _Crazy!!_ I hope you liked it though. I cross my fingers, hope to God you liked it…

So, now for some recognition… I'd like to thank everyone who read the story, double thanks to everyone who reviewed. And special thanks to some special people who I think are awesome. XD Kyoko-sama for one, for her wonderful beta-reading, suggestions and encouragement. Drogan whose one of the spiffiest people ever and whose artistic talents are god-like!! I adore her!! And last, but not least, S3, the demon godling who's really cool and always makes me feel really important and special when I talk to him. Thanks everyone!! Couldn't have done it without ya!

Lastly, and not very important, if you like my work and want to know what I'm coming out with next, check my **livejournal**. The link's on my profile here on FF.N and I keep the journal updated with all the latest developments and updates and everything. Go ahead and comment on it too if you feel there's something you'd like to tell me or suggest or whatever.

Well, that's all… so I guess this is good-bye. [_sniffles_] I hope to see you all again at another story or on my livejournal. But, for now, farewell and take care. After all, I don't want my precious reviewers to get hurt, now do I? ;p Heheh.__


End file.
